Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Over 5 years ago, I ate so bad. I would exercise but get absolutely nowhere. I consumed so many processed foods that I'm surprised I didn't get full-blown diabetes. But that just goes to show how the body can heal itself.

I never realized how important healthier foods choices were back then. Finishing off a half gallon of ice cream in two days, you can see I was on the wrong track. It took pre-hypertension to wake me up. No way was I going to rely on meds!

Six months ago, I started on a plant based journey. I had done week long vegan challenges, even two week challenges, but have never gone so long without any kind of animal products before now. What started out a 13 week challenge based on Robert Cheeke's "Shred It!" book has become an important part of my daily routine.

Here are some things that many people need to be aware of... plant based people are not depriving themselves in any way. I eat more variety now than when I ate meat. What do typical meat eaters have? Most likely chicken, turkey, beef or pork. What do plant strong people eat? Kale, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, black beans, chick peas, flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, berries, sweet potato, almond butter, peanut butter, quinoa, oatmeal... you get the idea. There are a lot of choices.

I have made a lot of improvements this past week in my muscle building initiative. I decided to wear this new shirt I got in support of Rip Esselstyn, a former fire fighter turned author. Rip is the author of the Engine 2 Diet. He was also responsible for turning his fellow firefighters into healthy "plant strong" eaters to help save a colleague, who had very high cholesterol. His term "Plant Strong" really says it all, describes my goal perfectly.

So this week, I increased weight for both my chest and arms. I only go up small increments but to me, it's a big improvement. I'm no where near my goal yet, but eventually I would like to bench press my body weight... got a long way toward that goal!

I've been so much focused on weight lifting I haven't been thinking about my body fat percentage. I really haven't had it checked for a while but I know body fat is important in order to see 6 pack abs. Judging from all the advice I've seen online regarding ab definition, the body fat needs to be in the single digits. The last time I wrote about it, I believe my abs were at 10.38 percent.

I let the body fat talk subside as I wanted to focus on the strength. In order to build muscle, I needed to put on some weight. Once I start seeing more results with the muscle, I'm sure my focus will then go to the body fat percentage again.

I've heard many people say "what foods can you eat as a vegan", implying that the foods for those who eat plant based are limiting. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I eat a large variety of foods and during the past few months I have been trying new things. I think it's important to eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients you can from the different foods. Plant based eaters can thrive if they aren't eating just one or two different foods each day.