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Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Why you should try a Plant-Based Diet?





Hello everyone, welcome back to my blog, let's talk about the plant-based diet.

It has gain popularity over a couple of years. 

You might be thinking: what is the difference between a plant-based diet and being vegan? 

A plant-based diet means that you are not only eating fruits and vegetables but are also eating nuts, legumes, seeds, beans, etc. 
Having a plant-based diet doesn't mean you are not eating meat or dairy products anymore. It means you are choosing to eat mostly food that comes from plant sources.

I will be talking about my personal experience on how I transition to a plant-based diet.

Why would you change to a plant-based diet? 

Mainly for health reasons, having a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, etc. is better and healthy than just eating meat.

Why I started a plant-based diet? 


I notice that I was not feeling good anymore with my diet. I was always tired, always hungry, feeling bloated, and I  am pretty sure I was gaining weight. 

I went to a Nutritionist, but the diet she gave me only made me feel good the first couple of weeks. 

As someone who exercises a lot (because that is what Ii do for a living), I thought I needed more protein, I kept eating more meat and fish but didn't help.

I watched this documentary on Netflix: the game changer, they explain perfectly how a plant-based diet works for athletes. 

I thought I had to eat a lot of meat to get protein in my body, but actually, that is not true. I can get as many proteins or more from eating vegetables and grains.


How I transition to A plant-based diet?

First, I knew it was going to be hard to stop eating meat at once, and that is something I do not recommend at all! you can't stop eating something and expect it to be easy and feel good about it.

The very first thing to do is change your mindset! you need to understand what it is to do a plant-based diet, how is this going to help you, what are you gaining, and most importantly that you do not have to give up everything that you love to eat. 

It takes time and it is better if you do the transition slowly.

1.- Reduce the amount of meat I was eating

I started by eating meat only 3 days a week and alternating from chicken or red meat with fish and other seafood. 

of course, you don't have to do this, especially if you don't like fish. But reducing the days you eat meat will help you with the transition. 

You can start by doing just 1 day a week no meat at all. 

And don't worry about the eggs, milk, etc products you eat, keep eating them as normal, just focus on one thing at a time.

2.-Start adding more vegetables, nuts, and legumes.

Incorporate more vegetables to your meals, even though you are still eating meat, make sure that 50% of your plate is full of vegetables.

In my case, I decided to change the meat at all for fish or salmon or tuna. 

While doing this I try to incorporate as many vegetables as possible. 

I also change other foods like white pasta to wheat pasta, white rice to wild rice, white bread to whole grain bread, etc. ( yes you can eat rice, pasta, and bread on a plant-based diet) 


3.- Eat meat only weekends

My last step was to switch,  only eat fish on weekends, kind of like my "free day" and during the weekdays  I only eat plant-based meals. 

If you feel more comfortable at this point, you can focus also on the eggs and dairy products that you consume. 

It's up to you whether you want to continue to consume them but less amount or you want to continue as before. Don't feel pressure to get rid of everything that you eat or love. 

This is your personal journey! and your first goal should be consume more vegetables.

Be patient! the changes are always hard, that's why it's better to do them progressively. 

It was not easy. I started to notice some changes in myself physically. 

I was not bloated anymore, I lost some weight,  was not feeling tired anymore,  was not feeling hungry all the time, was eating a lot more than before. 

But the most important thing was, I was recovering from my training faster than before because it's making me feel more energized. 

Educate yourself! read, watch videos, documentaries anything that will help you get a better understanding of nutrition and the benefits of having a plant-based diet.



Why you should try a plant-based diet?

If you are looking for some specific goals, that you can not achieve, or want to change your diet but don't know-how, maybe want to lose weight, you are not feeling comfortable with your current diet or maybe just as a detox. 

Is this diet will work for everyone? NO, but you would never know if you don't try it!

I'm going, to be honest with you, I didn't quit completely eating meat or fish, but I only eat them once or twice a month. But that was just my decision, which is what is great about this diet. 

As I mentioned in the beginning you don't really need to stop eating meat or animal products; you can just reduce the amount of meat you are eating. 

How do I know what to eat?

You can find so many recipes on Pinterest, which is what I do: just search for plant-based recipes and you will find thousands of good options. I am not an expert and I am still learning.

It is better if you prepare your own food, experiment with what you buy, and stack your pantry with essentials.  

There are many youtube channels that teach you how to prepare plant-based meals and why not get a new cookbook.

Have you tried following a plant-based diet? 



9 comentarios:

  1. This sounds amazing! I've been debating whether to get into the plant-based lifestyle as it has so much benefits!

    cabin twenty-four

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    1. i´ll say to definitely give it a try! and see how you are feeling and if it is helping you. It has help me a lot!

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  2. Excellent insights I recently changed my diet to vegan and feeling the flavor and benefits. Your idea of adding more plant-based is amazing, thanks for sharing wonderful article😍😍

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    1. so happy to hear you are feeling the benefits of your new diet!!

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  3. That was a great post and love the way you explained how to switch to plant based diet!

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    1. thankyou, I want to be able to help others (with my experience), who are looking to change their diet

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  4. I am a Vegetarian myself, and those are some really good tips. I have so many boards on Pintrest, they do some some delicious recipes!

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    1. thankyo, i am very interested in your boards for more recipes!!

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  5. I do eat meat but I can easily have a plant based meal too. Thank you for sharing these tips!

    ReplyDelete