Aloha beautiful people!
Yea, um, its been a minute since I have blogged. I feel kinda whack for not keeping up, but on a good note, I have been writing pretty regularly. I am still working on this book, actually two now. Its been such a long winter and I have been feeling behind the power curve here but starting to be optimistic and have more faith in divine timing people! Lets say it together…. DIVINE TIMING!
So if you haven’t taken notice, I’ve recently become an….. (wait for it) an ALIEN! DUH! Hah. Just kidding. I’ve become a vegan-vegetarian. Yay. Cats out the bag baby! I have been wanting to write about how my journey has been going and answer some common questions I have been receiving about this drastic food lifestyle change.
It’s been 8 weeks since I made the transition. “How has it been?” Actually, it’s been pretty darn AMAZING! Moreover, I’m thinking this has got to be one of my proudest accomplishments thus far.
Age old question, tried and true! “Why did you do it?”
I was diagnosed with Moderate to Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis at 17 years old and have been on medication since my diagnosis in 2001. The only time I was able to discontinue any medicinal therapy was during my pregnancies with my sons.
Wanting a purer state of health, the plant based diet idea has been intriguing me for at least 2 years. I’d mention it from time to time, but never whole heartedly tried pursuing it. I pretty much convinced myself I’d fail by not being able to stick with it. I definitely am all for animal rights ( I love my fellow furry beings) but to be honest, I did not see myself giving up my chicken, fish and occasional medium steak. Oxymoron much?
Considering that my autoimmune disease symptoms center heavily around inflammation, the idea of eating a natural, plant based, and organically thriving diet always appealed as a great idea. Most of the time when the idea would surface though, I would quickly hush it by enjoying one more juicy medium steak. Be quiet, you mind you! So foul!
I have also been on a self journey for a year and half and as an empath, heightened spiritual, angel intuitive and developing being, I have had this strong urge to become vegan for months now. The urge had become some clear and distinct that I began asking God was I hearing correctly. Often negating these thoughts with sure affirmations that there was no way in hell I’d be able to stick with it. It would just be entirely toooooo difficult. Yes that many o’s.
Yo! When I say ask God for a sign, and he’ll come through like a trumpet sounding in the night, literally so loud you won’t be able to ignore it! They say signs come in 3’s right?? I got all 3 confirmations in 4 hours! It was crazy. I won’t waste my time explaining what the signs were, but honey chile! If you need an answer from God or the universe regarding a certain thang, simply ask! YOU GOT IT!
So get to the point! Why are you Vegan-Vegetarian? Well its quite simple. I just want to be my highest and healthiest self. Between having RA, a few GI issues and being spiritually aware, being vegan keeps me from consuming a lot of the foods that aren’t pure and that encourage inflammation and helps me replace them with foods that promote optimal health and self-healing (please check out my previous post, if you haven't already, Love Cured my Autoimmune Disease). I have been fully off of any immuno suppressants for 6 months (PRAISE THE MOST HIGH) and consuming a 90% plant based diet for just 2 months. This is the healthiest I have felt in all of my adult life! You cannot convince me this is a coincidence. Universal synchronicity? Maybe!
“Is being Vegan Boring?”
Absolutely NOT! There are so many options and to my surprise, vegan food is ridiculously tasty. Down right, sinfully delicious! Pinterest, Instagram and google are my best friends. I love the website www.cookieandkate.com . Cookbook recommendations: Oh, She Glows and THUG KITCHEN: Eat Like you Give a F*ck
“Was it hard to transition?” Surprisingly it was not. I am not sure if it is because of my personal determination or because I was just that over meat, but the transition was much easier than I imagined it would be, Thank the lordt! hehe. PS, if you are thinking about giving a plant based diet a try, watch the Documentary: Forks over Knives, correlating cancer occurrences with meat consumption.
“Do you eat soy meat substitutes?” I have tried some. I like tofu and I have had chick’n and meatless meatballs, both by the brand Gardein. They weren’t bad but being that soy isn’t the easiest thing on your digestive system, I try to eat them as least as possible and stick more to the plant based items.
“Will you ever eat meat again?” I‘m not sure I can answer this question yet. I am enjoying a mostly plant based diet and still have at least one vegetarian day a week where I’ll have eggs or cheese, or both. I’ve had a can of tuna on a day I felt extremely weak and just last weekend I had shrimp & grits at a cafe in Brooklyn that had no vegan options…… So yea! But no sweat, I am just out here being myself. The good thing is I am not trying to impress anyone, so that alleviates a lot of the pressure ;)
By no means was me sharing my journey to discourage or judge meat eaters, however I definitely hope it serves to encourage meat eaters to insert more plant based options into their current food menu. And of course, by all means, if this encouraged you to try being vegetarian or vegan, please do! You will not regret it!
If you have any questions for me, feel free to leave them below in the comments section. Love and light to you all!
(Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, nor do I have any nutrition or dietary training. This post is perspective based on personal experience. Always consult a physician when making serious changes that can impact your health. Please do proper research so that you can determine how to consume a healthy amount of protein on plant based eating habits!)
Ciao!
Xo,
Shina