How Can You Be Vegan When There Are So Many Delicious Things!

‘I could never go vegan. I just love cheese (or bacon, or whatever) too much’. That is the phrase every vegan hears, and before I became vegan, I said it too. I had been vegetarian since I was a kid, and I thought to myself, ‘Now I’m supposed to give up eggs and cheese too! No way. I gotta have something!’ But in 2012, a friend and I decided to be vegan for a month. Just for fun. I was pretty skeptical. I couldn’t see how I would be able to give up cheese. I had it on everything. And eggs! What about breakfast?!

Have you ever been on a diet, or started a workout regimen and after a couple of weeks noticed that you were looking pretty good? For me, it was the same in experiencing the results that came from eating a vegan diet. I felt cleaner, and lighter. It just seemed like everything ran better. And I found that I could live without eggs and cheese….and be totally happy. But how was this possible?!

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Our culture generally accepts that food is addictive. So it makes sense that most often our ‘cravings’ are just symptoms of our addiction, not true needs. What it takes time to discover is that when you eat to nourish your body, these ‘cravings’ are soon replaced by a genuine desire for healthier choices. Its just a matter of  giving our bodies the opportunity to release themselves from those addictive feelings.

If anyone has tried to quit smoking you know what I’m talking about. Its this all consuming feeling that you need that cigarette and you literally feel a loss in your body…a hole that is being left unfilled. Even dieting creates the hole. The moment you start on one, you are all of a sudden ravenous and craving all the things you can’t have. This is the feeling I think of when someone says they couldn’t ever be vegan. I’m sure its partially about the fear of that hole. The feeling that somehow they are going to be missing out on a pleasure in life by opting for a healthier choice. But your love of certain foods has simply been fostered by your surroundings.

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From birth our tastebuds have been groomed to be stimulated by processed, meat and dairy heavy foods. I’ve often mused at the cultural differences in our eating habits. Kids in India like the flavors in India, children in Africa, Japan, Greece, or anywhere you can think of, like the foods of their culture. Basically you like what you are fed. You’re taste buds simply adjust to whatever they are offered. When you change your eating habits, you may feel that hole at first. But recognize that its a mental battle you are fighting, and soon you will not miss the other stuff.  You will like, and even crave better foods. That hole DOES get filled.

My motivation is not to make everyone eat like I do. Just to eat more consciously. Have you ever thought about what percentage of the food that you eat each day has any genuine nutritional value? Write it down. Take a look.  There’s no sense in lying to yourself. You are the only loser in that scenario. For me, a vegan diet is one of the answers for the kind of life I want to lead. But it may not be the decision you want to make.

What should still be important to you is the wholesomeness of your food. Consider where the food you and your family are eating, has come from. Has it been genetically modified? Is it covered in pesticides? What about your meat?  Is it full of antibiotics and growth hormones? And are you morally at peace with the way the animal was housed and handled?

I don’t believe I’m giving up anything I don’t want to. I believe that my body benefits from my eating habits. I  believe the earth benefits from my eating habits, and I am happy to give myself the gift of eating a healthy diet. And its bigger than that. Not only do I look and feel better, but I know that my eating habits are contributing to a drive in the way our nation handles the responsibility of providing wholesome food to its people.

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