This January I went vegan!! Just for January I may add as part of “veganuary”. A campaign to highlight the suffering of animals and promote veganism.
Why did I do this? Why not give up alcohol like most people do after the indulgences of Christmas. Well I am not a lover of following the crowd I prefer to try different things and challenge what is thought of as "normal” after all what does that mean???
As a health, fitness & wellbeing trainer for over 22 years I keep myself very fit and healthy and have a
So I signed up to "veganuary" bought my soya milk, filled my fridge with veggies and opened up my cookery books. As I already ate a very healthy diet, rich in plant based foods, lean meat, fish and very few unhealthy "white" carbs it wasn’t a huge change for me. As long as I continued to plan my meals alongside my family’s. There was no way the 3 men I share my life with were going anywhere near tofu!!But by being prepared and making sure that I was getting enough protein from nuts , soya , legumes , tofu and other vitamins from lots of leafy green veg I never felt hungry or without energy. Now I do a lot of exercise each day - sometimes up to 4 + hours and to say that I felt energised was an understatement!! Also as an IBS sufferer (medically diagnosed I may add!) my symptoms reduced massively, I felt less bloating and less "heavy" after meals. I also found that there are so many wonderful things you can do with vegetables all of which are quick and easy and cheap!!
So as well as feeling healthier and losing a little weight – which wasn’t an aim! I felt better about not eating meat and more informed about the treatment of animals. There are a number of huge health benefits:
Reduction in the risk of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease & rheumatoid arthritis
Reduction in premature death due to consumption of processed meat (bacon, sausages, ham etc.)
Eating a plant based diet can drastically reduce high cholesterol
There are so many books & websites dedicated to eating less meat it really isn’t as difficult or boring as you may think. In Lichfield we have the wonderful “Spark “café who also serve some great vegetarian food, and I may add a wonderful Soya Latte !
So maybe you want to give it a try? Veganuary website has some great information.
Or if veganism is too much of an ask try going “meat free “on a Monday www.meatfreemondays.co.uk
Or “ Meat Free “ week is from March 23rd- 29th take a look at their website for more information www.meatfreeweek.org
