You've probably seen me mention it a few times if you follow me on Twitter, but this past Lent i ended up giving a lot of things up. For one, the first and most important was coffee. But right around March 11, after a hosting gig in Sarasota, I decided I'd probably test how giving up meat (and meat products) would effect me. I did some research on a couple of different diets including the infamous Dr. Sebi diet, and what I noticed was that a dramatic lifestyle change would have to take place in order for me to even attempt such a thing. So, instead, I took heed to the pescatarian diet (fish proteins and vegetables only). Changes? Plenty. And I'll even give you reasons as to why I'm likely to never go back to eating meat.
Change Gotta Come
So, a lot of people aren't aware of it, but I take my health and fitness pretty seriously. As someone who used to live a very active lifestyle as a multi-sport athlete, and even in college committing to playing flag football very often, I find adult life to be a slow death. Full-time jobs require 8 hours of sitting down. You try to commit to 20 minutes standing, but your computer's waist-level. You're sitting down for so long, and your eating habits really go to the shits after a while (especially if you have 30-minute lunches, you poor soul). To me, the change in diet was finding an alternative now rather than waiting for a doctor's visit 20 years from now to find I have [insert avoidable health issue].
An Easy Diet With Easy Changes
The Paleo diets (pescatarian, gluten-free, low-carbohydrates) are relatively simple in their concept. Thousands of years ago, the average person was a hunter-gatherer, moving around, and burning thousands of calories at a time. She ate fruits like berries, vegetables like potatoes, corn, wild berries, and occasionally enjoyed the catch of the day - at easiest, some fish and at best some form of land animal.
The pescatarian diet just makes sense to me because it has the most natural feel. Eating wild caught salmon, cod, grouper, mahi mahi, swordfish, swai, crab, lobster, tuna, snapper all makes sense because these are high in protein, low in fat, and typically transfer the right type of energy to whichever animal decides to eat them. This is the basics to the food chain: you are what you eat. I love chicken. I love steak. I love pork/bacon, but I'm also aware of the often poor quality these foods come in. I understand, and often times vegetarians and vegans can't ignore the conditions these animals live in just prior to their death. I already was a very big seafood lover, and the pescatarian diet made the easiest shift for me because all I have to do now is not eat meat, which, within 7 days was very easy to do. Speaking of Do...
I get asked a lot, "so what happens if you eat meat?" Well, I don't melt. If I eat meat, which I have on a couple occasions, I just know what's to come. Everyone might be different, but I get extremely bloated, gassy, and because the time it takes for your digestive system to break down meat, I take some pretty rancid sessions on the porcelain. You asked, remember that.
But How Easy Is It, Really?
Let's amend a piece of the myth that says better eating is expensive. Better eating is expensive when you have not acknowledged that most Americans eat to feel full. Once I got a grasp on portion control, it became much easier to enjoy 4-5 meals a day versus 2 really big and heavy meals.
I already rarely ate fast food, but now, if I'm on the go, I enjoy "fast food" that keeps fresh, vegetarian, vegan, or seafood options. So, enjoying a sofritas bowl at Chipotle, tuna burgers, mahi burgers, and my ultimate favorite, EVOS! If you've never gone to EVOS, I encourage you to check out their menu, especially on Mondays. Try it for yourself. Groceries are groceries. Show me anyone shopping for more than one person that spends under $100, and I'll bake you a cake. But Are You Really Eating Right?
It's tough, right. Trying to know whether or not you're really on the path to the greatest health you'll ever know is tough, however, it requires awareness and attention. Things as simple as asking for vegetarian options, or if the seafood is cooked in chicken broth, are important because once you start this diet, you will feel the difference. Additionally, I always keep in mind the need for exercise and taking vitamins.
For supplements, I keep it simple with branch-chain amino acids (BCAA), specifically glutamine, creatine, whey protein (without dairy), and super food proteins. Brand name wise for my super foods, I'm currently taking part in a promotional with Activa Naturals for their Greens Super Food supplement, which I am using as an additional source of vegetable-based proteins and nutrition. They were nice enough to allow me to try their product for free, and to provide feedback on it to my subscribers and followers. Though just a day into taking the supplement, I'll definitely say that the taste of this product, which is berry flavored, is really good. It beats trying to make your own super food smoothie and fighting to balance out the taste of fibrous greens like kale with sweet fruits. So far, I'm liking it a lot and I'll definitely be providing more feedback as I continue taking the supplement. Another thing to note is that Activa's customer service and their customer support are spot on. I was able to email them regarding their product's shipping and was able to receive correspondence from them almost immediately. The shipping on all orders are free, so this is a great opportunity to add an easy-going product to your diet. I recommend a product like this because while we focus so much on protein from animals, it's important that we recognize the proteins, nutrients, vitamins/minerals and even water that we can get from greens. Give it a try. Check out this product and more through their Amazon Channel, or order yoru Greens Super Food by Activa Naturals through this direct Amazon Link. As always, tell 'em Marvel sent you!
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