Vegan or Paleo? Part 2
I got a good amount of comments from my post yesterday. I just want to answer some of those comments and explain a little bit more of my situation.
Please check out Part 1 if you are clueless right now.
A lot of people were mentioning how either of these would be lifestyle changes. I am well aware of this. I don't think you can want to change how you feel without changing your life. This is also something I struggle with. I am terrible about be consistent with going to the gym everyday and eating well. I am going to be spending this year really trying to change that. I really am. I feel like I am already making better choices especially when I am at the office. I found that I have pretty good will power to order my green delicious veggies for lunch instead of some very tasty looking lasagna. Or chicken fingers. Or a burger. Or mac and cheese. (our office has a cafeteria if you couldn't tell....I rarely go out to eat for lunch). I also bring healthy things to snack on because 3 veggies doesn't last very long. I munch on grapes and almonds and drink my cucumber and lemon water. In the office, I feel good about my choices.
It's when I get home that things aren't as clear. I have great intentions. I do. But Jeremy loves chocolate and ho-hos and terrible things (but delicious). It's so hard for me to see him eat something like that I not participate. So I participate. But I am going to honestly try my damn-dest (is that a word?) to not indulge in things like that. I am not willing to give up certain things completely because that just would be terrible. But a few chocolate chip morsels is a whole lot better than a ho-ho.
If I choose to eat vegan, I will tell you that it will not be a complete immersion into it. At least not at the beginning. Something like that will take time, and that is ok. I know that as well. I am also not choosing either of these because they are the latest "fad" diet right now. Honestly I am not. I have friends who are vegan and paleo and they talk about the health benefits of them. So I am not taking this lightly or consider it being a fad. I do agree that if you do a "fad" diet you will gain the weight right back that you lost once you stop the diet. I am aware of that. I want this to be a lifestyle change, not just a couple month diet thing. Becoming a complete vegan will take time but I can see how that will fit well with my life. I really do.
I also want people to know that I am taking this seriously and I want to change my life. I am sick of feeling fat and hating the way I look in pictures. It's time to change that and eating properly is the best way to do that. Yes, I will be exercising as well (more on that later), but I know that you have to put good into your body to get fabulous results.
I would love some support and encouragement. Thank you.
I didn't comment on your last post because who am I to talk? I believe a vegetarian diet is the healthiest and a vegan diet is even better, but although I lean that way I don't totally live it. I have a really bad sinus infection right now and dairy can make mucus production worse so I've been avoiding dairy for three days and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be! So I'll probably try to reduce my dairy consumption (I'm gonna need the occasional ice cream though!)
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about Paleo but I sincerely believe that any diet that removes grains and legumes is not ideal for your nutrition.
My family is all vegetarian so I'm steeped in the culture and reasoning. Try watching Forks over Knives on Netflix. It gives some really great information about being a vegan. :)
Good luck! I know you'll do great!
I know a fair amount about both, and that's why it's so confusing because they are basically contradictory. And there's research to back up both.
ReplyDeleteI was pretty much paleo this fall (before the holidays) and it was pretty easy to maintain as long as I wasn't tempted. But once I went off, so hard to go back. Not that I am eating bad right now, but I really missed my greek yogurt and oatmeal. Not necessarily exciting foods, but I liked them both. It is also expensive to eat only meat and vegetables, especially if you go with the theory that it should be grain-fed, cage free, organic, etc. It seems like you've had success on a mostly vegetarian diet, so if that has worked for you in the past, then you should try it again.
Even after everything I've read about all diets, my brain still rationalizes "balance" and "everything in moderation. So I am just going to try to cut out bread and sugar, and only allow occasional tastes. And when I have the option stick with meat and veggies and more paleo-ish options. At least I feel like I can make more informed choices. But for me it just seems unrealistic that I will never again in my life eat spaghetti, or a tortilla, or ice cream, or peanut butter (peanut butter isn't paleo). It just isn't.
It sounds like you need to be with my husband. He's the exact opposite of yours, and hates desserts. He can't understand why I enjoy eating sweets, since he basically sees them as a waste of calories that doesn't taste good. Must be nice right? And while I must definitely haven't stopped eating desserts, I think I do eat slightly less when I'm with him. Although it also means I have no one to split desserts with at restaurants so I just wind up eating it all myself.
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