Do You Ever Wonder How You Never Knew

Soak Your Nuts by Karyn Calabrese

I love it when I discover plant based experts. What amazes me is how they were never on my radar before given how much I study this field. I spend at least an hour a day, sometimes much longer listening to plant-based podcasts, watching videos, reading books, etc. I would say I'm definitely passionate about it. My biggest regret is that I didn't pay attention to the vegetarian world when I was younger. I do believe it's never too late to turn your life around with plant based food and a positive attitude. 

Today I discovered Karyn Calabrese as I was checking out an Autumn Calabrese video! I am constantly amazed at how young people look who adopt a plant based lifestyle long term. It's like it reverses aging! Karyn is 65 and looks half that age. She's big into detox which is not something I have yet mastered. I think the longest I have lasted doing a detox was three days and I felt like I was dying. I'm a big baby when it comes to feeling sick. I know it passes, but I think I have so much toxicity built up in my fat cells from a half century of eating junk food that I have to release it slowly or be medically supervised. I would love to go to True North and do a water fast. Someday, when I can afford it. In the meantime, I will keep fueling my body with fruits and veggies and learning from people who have been there, done that. I'm so grateful for people like Karyn who consistently walk their talk and share their gifts. 

Kathy G

facebook.com/vegformation

My Why

That's the little girl I'm trying to save. She's five years old and full of joy. She likes to skip, jump rope, swing high and lean back as far as she can in the seat. She loves balloons and bubbles because they reach the sky and make the angels smile. She chases fireflies, sees shapes in the clouds, sings Jesus Loves Me, plays with dandelions, draws clown faces in the dirt with a stick, and wishes on the first star she sees. She chooses fruit over candy every time. My greatest mission in life is to make sure she is healthy and happy. She deserves that. 

As I'm on this journey to overcome junk food addiction and transition to a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle I think about why I'm doing it. I have to keep my WHY in front of me at all times or I will be tempted to slip back to unhealthy eating habits that will destroy my body. The more whys I gather up, the stronger my conviction gets. My whys are becoming much more powerful than my why nots. 

Why am I doing this? I want to be around to see my grandchildren grow up and have the energy to do active things with them like go to the park, fly kites, swim, travel... I want to be a positive role model for my family, friends, and community by being a living example that you can overcome what may seem like insurmountable obstacles to live your best life. I want to save my inner child. 

Last night I ran across this picture of myself at age four or five. I think this was when I was still innocent. When I didn't yet know about the danger and pain that awaited me in my world. 

This is how I see my inner child. A carefree, imaginative, strong, beautiful spirit that helped guide me to the courageous woman I have become. 

I want to protect my inner child. I tear up when I think about all that child went through and survived just so I could stuff her with junk food and make her fat and sick. She loved fruit. My mother told me that she would win bets with people by telling them I would choose fruit over chocolate or any type of candy. She said I chose fruit because there was more of it. I guess a banana was bigger than a Hershey bar in my mind or maybe I just had the instinct of what was healthy. That instinct is still there, I just have to listen to it. 

I think I will take this picture, put it beside pictures of my grandchildren, and place it where I will see it every day, maybe put a copy on my vision board and the fridge too. That should help keep me on track! 

Why do you care about your health? What's your why? What is your inner child like? Is she healthy and happy? She deserves the best life has to give and only YOU have the power to give it to her. 

Kathy G

www.facebook.com/vegformation 

Vegetarian / Vegan Shaming

The one thing I didn't expect when I became a vegetarian was all the "jokes"...

 My food poops on your food. 

 Vegetarian - Ancient tribal slang for the village idiot who can't hunt or fish. 

 There's plenty of room for God's creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes. 

Those are just a few "jokes" that have appeared on my Facebook page by friends and family! Not to mention the ones I had to delete because they were so offensive.

Why would someone make fun of your dietary or lifestyle choices, especially when you are doing it to get healthy or save animals from a fate worse than death?! My guess is it is a defensive mechanism from someone who may feel that you are holding up a mirror in judgement of their choices.

To me it's all about searching for the truth and what we decide to do with that truth is up to each of us individually. I'm not judging anyone for their choices. I'm just trying to get healthy, overcome years of food addiction, and not cause harm to any living being if I don't have to. It has nothing to do with anyone else other than sharing information that may help them reach their truth.

I have gotten defensive a time or two and I've let some nasty comments get inside my head momentarily, like a coworker who upon finding out that I was vegetarian looked me up and down and said, "How's that working out for you?" I didn't let it bother me for long. I moved along realizing that he doesn't know my story. Doesn't know that I nearly died from eating meat and it blocking my colon to the point that I had to have 18 inches of my colon removed. Doesn't know or probably even care that I deal with chronic inflammation and joint pain almost every day.

For me, becoming a vegetarian wasn't a joke, it was survival. I'm still working on it while realizing that it may take years for my body to heal from a lifetime of misinformation. I'm very grateful for the Internet and people who are willing to speak up and face ridicule.

There are many ways to handle the "jokes". You can join in on the joke, ignore it, get upset (which I've seen happen with a lot of my vegetarian and vegan friends), or you can do like I do and use it as a platform to educate those who may be curious. Every time someone posts a "joke" on my page, I find some bit of material to share as a response to their post. I have shared a link to the EARTHLINGS documentary, plant-based doctor's quotes, education websites such as Dr. T. Colin Campbell's Nutrition Studies and Dr. Michael Greger's Nutrition Facts to support the plant-based lifestyle. In my mind the information I share may help someone heal their body and get healthy, so it makes it worth taking a few jabs from people who do not understand the plant-based movement.

If your friends tease you because because you are vegetarian or vegan, how you handle it may make a difference to someone else who may be silent but is paying attention.

Kathy G
facebook.com/vegformation

The Best Weight Loss Secret Ever!

By watching Chef AJ's video Ultimate Weight Loss Secret #1, I feel like I just got the key to the weight loss door that I've been banging on and trying to open for years! Although I have heard "eat whole foods" it really didn't soak in about the smoothies until I saw the visual where she dumps all the food from the blender in a bowl. I have had the hardest time dropping weight since I became vegetarian three years ago. I foolishly believed it would melt off the moment I stopped eating meat and deep fried foods. I thought the smoothie was the way to go because it filled me up like a meal would and still kept the fiber in. Now I understand for optimal weight loss, I need to chew my whole fruits and veggies. Makes perfect sense now that she explained it to me. I'm so glad she is making these videos They are a invaluable for someone like me who wants to transition from a junk food vegetarian to whole food plant based so I can once and for all get to my ideal weight (which means losing at least 165 lbs), have abundant energy, and be free from food addiction. 

Thanks Chef AJ! 

http://youtu.be/W9Hh6wooFm4