Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants: #7 It's Incredibly Freeing
You heard me right. Eating more plants can be incredibly freeing! Most people think of it as super limiting. Let me explain.
I used to think that eating plant-based was limiting too. Restricting even. But the moment I made a commitment to eating plant-based, it became a personal philosophy, and everything changed. Here’s my main reasons for feeling it’s a freeing way of life now.
1) It became an opportunity, not a restriction. Developing a plant-centered philosophy is actually super handy for staying focused on my health. It helps me prioritize myself and feeling good. And not just every other week and sometimes on Friday. Every day. When my family first started test driving a plant-based diet, I thought it was seriously difficult in public situations. It felt like it took a lot of extra effort and it felt unsettling. Like I stuck out like a sore thumb. Like I was always extra work. Like I could make a more mainstream choice but wouldn’t. Not couldn’t. I felt like others saw it as being weird and difficult. I don’t know why I cared, or if they did, but I think it was a part of being hyper aware that making vegan choices were typically viewed as being, well, weird and difficult. If there were treats in the break area at work or in social situations I had to ask about all the ingredients so I often just avoided it altogether to avoid the extra effort or seeming like an imposition by grilling the gifter of said treats with my list of vegan questions.
This was when we were experimenting with a vegan diet. I had one foot in and one foot out. We were plant-curious but it didn’t seem like a long-term decision. But, when we made the decision, when I saw what an incredible benefit it had for my husband and started to experience super exciting changes myself, it became our new PHILOSPHY. A health and lifestyle philosophy. A commitment to myself and my family. And everything changed.
Eating plant-based then became an opportunity. As my learning and experience grew, and my commitment grew, I knew it was a good decision and it kept me from making unhealthy choices that I knew I’d later feel bad about. Not feel badly in terms of feeling guilty – rather, I came to know my body wouldn’t feel good. I knew at this point that plant-foods were making me feel so much better and it became so helpful to have made a personal commitment. If there were stacks of candy and baked goods in the break area at work or at social events, I knew that there were likely ingredients that wouldn’t serve me well because, well, most baked goods and social party foods aren’t plant-based and are filled with at least eggs, dairy, oils, and other animal based foods. It became easy to say “no thank you, bummer, it’s not plant-based - but thank you so much for sharing these! So thoughtful!” and make plans before or after to treat myself with plant-foods. I’m all for progress not perfection, but I have to say, when plant based eating went from intention to commitment, for me it made a huge difference. When it’s a philosophy, sure you can make exceptions, but it’s an opportunity to focus on what you know to be best for you and not worry about missing out.
2) It’s a relief not to eat animals. It’s a super big relief. It’s so freeing. I never felt right about it. I just tried not to think about it. Finding out that plant foods – and eating entirely plant-based – is actually the healthiest way to eat - Mind blown. Weight lifted. Animals live. Phew.
3) Knowledge is freeing. The more plants I ate, the more I wanted to learn about the benefits of eating more plants. I became armed with tons of knowledge and knowledge is crazy freeing. It’s freeing to know that I have a great amount of control over my health and that it’s not all genetics leading me into fates of disease and chronic conditions. Learning about plant-based eating and nutrition quickly became a leap frog of growing resources at my fingertips. My experience matched what I was learning and the more I learned the more I could enjoy and appreciate my new plant-centered life. It made me want to keep learning more. Pre-plant-based-me loved research and news clips that reinforced my bad habits. Now, I love the research that reinforces my good habits and seek it out.
All this researching and exploring led me to develop a whole team of doctors, health specialists, authors, organizations, and bloggers who became my go-to resources, who were on team me. I became adept at learning how to research and identify those who I trust. I learned how to read the research and how to look for bias and reductionist methods (methods that just examine the effect of single nutrients rather than examining the whole diet). I started taking classes. Signed up for way too many newsletters. I learned to listen to my body. And now I’m months away from graduating with a Masters in Nutrition. Something I NEVER saw coming but I’ve gone from just doing what I’d always done and only knowing what was right in front of me (primarily in the media or hearsay) to being able to read, research, ask questions, listen to my growing base of knowledge and intuition, and make my own decisions. DAMN freeing.
4) It’s incredibly freeing and empowering to know that my daily food choices are also choices that benefit the health of the planet and access to healthy foods around the globe. Eating more plants is not just a good choice for me personally. #8 and #9 in my Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants series will focus on these two areas, so I won’t go into much detail here, but I love knowing that we can make daily choices that benefit our global community. We are that powerful.
Developing a plant-based philosophy isn’t a restriction, it’s a way of life now and an opportunity to give myself the best chance at a happy, healthy life. Might I still get sick with an undesirable disease or condition? Sure. But hopefully I’ve kicked the can much, much farther down the road and I am confident that I am dramatically reducing my risk.
We’re all doing the best we can with the information we have. Developing a plant-centered way of life, and all the learning that has come with it, has given me a profound new commitment to myself and it has been the most enriching and freeing decision I’ve made. You can do it too. :)
Where to start? Build your toolkit of information on plant-based living. Explore my website! I share tons of resources that have helped me. A great first step is to check out my Nutrition Toolkit and see if there’s a book that resonates with you to dive into. I’ve never relied on just one source - these are all sources that I’ve grown to value. It’s good to start somewhere and see what you think. And check out the Recipe Toolkit too to see if there’s a recipe book that catches your eye. Most of these chefs also have websites, so you can google them and test recipes before you buy. Pick one and test it out. Expand from there.
Knowledge is freeing. Eating more plants can be freeing and an opportunity. You’re in the driver’s seat. Build your philosophy. Adjust as you learn more. Discuss. Experiment. Grow.
You’ve got this.