I may not have mentioned this before, but I have a very depressing family history of heritable illnesses. Heart disease, stroke, Diabetes Type 1 and 2, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, hyperthyroidism, cancer, leukemia, and arthritis. Don't you know that I look forward to aging. For the past year--well, maybe even longer than that--I've felt as though the world is telling me to change my lifestyle habits now, or suffer the consequences later. Typically I have a poor diet, I eat a lot of fast food and processed food, and I don't regularly exercise. All of that is now going to change.
I have looked seriously into vegetarianism. However, I don't feel that it is necessary to become completely vegan. Humans are omnivores and do require certain nutrients that can only be ascertained from animal sources. Plus, I am not ethically against eating animal proteins. So, eggs and dairy are definitely okay with me. Meat...well, I'm ethically fine with it, but it seems that today we Americans consume far too much of it. Several hours of research into the night led me to the Mediterranean diet, which focuses on lots of whole grains, lots of vegetables, fruit, some dairy, occasional fish, and the least emphasis on other meats and fats. However it does integrate the liberal use of olive oil when cooking and eating, and the consumption of red wine with dinner.
So what am I going to do? So far I'm taking a slow but steady approach to change, as I feel I should to maintain success. However I will say that I haven't had any fast food since Monday morning, and it's a refreshing feeling. I have had several homemade meals including butternut squash soup and shepherd's pie with ground turkey instead of beef. I've experimented with veggie burgers, and have determined that I like ones made with black beans rather than "original" ones. Today, I ate entirely vegetarian. For breakfast I had grits, toast, and orange juice. For lunch I had a black bean veggie burger on 12-grain bread, grapes, and cashew nuts for a snack. For dinner, I had a warm pita with roasted red pepper hummus and melted feta cheese, and a side of salad with more feta cheese and an Italian vinaigrette dressing. It was absolutely delicious. I would have no problem being vegetarian if all the meals were as good as today's. It's funny, today is probably the first in a long time that I think I actually reached the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables. For me, that really is saying something. And I feel really good about myself. I feel energized, less stressed, and happy. I don't know if it's the diet or just the knowledge that I'm making a positive change for myself, but either way it feels good.
If I can keep up with this, it will be such a positive step in my life towards good health. Granted, I'm not unhealthy right now, but if family history is any indication, then I have a lot of health problems to prevent. My next step is going to need to be more regular exercise. I spend probably 30 minutes walking the dogs every day, but that's really not good enough. I need to do more strenuous activities daily as well. But, baby steps. I don't want to get too excited, overwork myself, burn out, and just go back to my old habits of fast food in the car or junk food in front of the TV.
One thing I really like about the Mediterranean diet (I hate calling it a "diet", like the Atkins or something...lifestyle might be a better choice of wording) is that it heavily emphasizes enjoying food with friends or family around the table, not just sitting and staring aimlessly at the boob-tube. Unfortunately I live alone, but for dinner today I just sat peacefully without the TV on, and took the time to really taste and savor each bite of food. It was a rewarding experience.
Anyway, so after several very good days of home-cooked, healthy meals, and a very tasty day of vegetarianism, I'm feeling refreshed and ready to wholeheartedly commit to my new lifestyle changes. I hope this trend continues for me! So until next time...
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