Health Movie Review: Super Size Me

Wow. I'm watching "Super Size Me" and I'm blown away. I'm so glad that I have started to eat healthier than I was. This movie should be mandatory viewing before you graduate from high school.

Synopsis: Morgan, a healthy, active man experiments by eating nothing but food from McDonalds for 30 days and walking less than 5000 steps a day.

Crazy thing? His girlfriend is a vegan chef! It must have killed her to watch him go through this experiment.

Why do I think that you need to watch this movie? It's really eye-opening to see what living on McDonald's food does to you--physically, mentally. Not only does it destroy your health and increase your weight, it also addicts you to it. When you see what happens to Morgan, you realize what is happening to you every time you eat this food. You also see what goes on in schools and learn about the way that the restaurant and food industry is keeping us down. Did you know how much advertising we see for unhealthy food options every day? Made me glad that we don't watch "traditional" television with commercials so my kids don't see them. But then I remembered when my daughter came up to tell me all about a commercial she heard on her radio. She was so insistent that the information she was giving me was important, and of course it wasn't. What are we teaching our kids?

My ultimate goal in eating better is to show my daughters how to be a healthy weight. I don't want them to struggle with obesity like I have. I think my next step will be cutting out the Diet Coke. I don't drink coffee, so I've convinced myself that this is the way I get my caffeine. I almost stopped drinking cola entirely a couple of years ago, then my work changed and I was struggling to stay awake, so I started drinking Coke. I eventually changed to Diet Coke because I didn't want all the sugar in my system. So, now I have Aspertame in my system instead. Yeah, I think it's time for the Diet Coke to go. I have kept myself at 1 can most days and lots of water. Think I'll up the water and pitch the cola now.

Crashing Vegan Stereotypes

I get that there are stereotypes and that people are going to instantly think they know something specific about me when they find out I'm vegan. They may think I'm a granola-eating tree hugger or that I only eat vegetables, or that I'm anemic or any other number of things. Tonight I came across something I'd never heard before. On a Web site where people post questions and "experts" answer them, someone asked about the morality of eating meat. The question was in the philosophy section and most of the answers were well thought out until I got to the last one. This fellow's argument was that animals were lower than humans and of course people should eat them. He also stated that there are no proteins in a plant based diet (what?) and then he said that it had been observed that people who don't eat meat are cowards.

This guy had lost my respect way before he got to this last unfounded statement, but this statement blew me away. People who don't eat meat are cowards. Why would that be? Because we choose not to harm animals? Because we dare to express an opinion and a lifestyle choice that differs from yours? If anything, I'd say that most vegans are brave. Having a conviction and following it through? That takes courage. Being different and choosing not to go with the flow? That takes courage. Calling him out about his ignorant assumption? That took some courage too, but it felt good. I could have lectured on and on about the benefits of a plant based diet and the fact that there are many sources of plant-based protein, but I was good and reigned myself in.

I have to say that this guy really riled me up. He made some pretty ignorant statements. I fail to see how what a person eats has any effect on their level of cowardice. It just doesn't make sense. I'm truly baffled. I'm shaking my head; I really don't get this. I'm quite sure this is the craziest and most baseless stereotype of vegans I've seen or heard. That doesn't mean there aren't others that I'm not aware of.

I'm inviting you to share your tales of vegan stereotypes here so we can smash them.

I wasn't going to share the link to the question, but after thinking about it some more, I decided to add it here. Is Eating Meat Morally Wrong

And the numbers are in!

OK, so I finally found my scale and weighed myself.  I changed to a vegan diet in September.  I've been trying to follow a healthy vegan eating plan, but I do eat some not so healthy food from time to time.  I haven't added exercise to my healthy living yet.  Are you ready for it?  I was really surprised when I weighed myself and discovered that I have lost 20 pounds since September!


It's coming off slowly and that is fine by me!  For me, it's better to lose the weight slowly because when I've lost weight in the past, it was quicker and came back fairly quickly.  I feel better knowing it's coming off bit by bit and that I feel the results.

I also feel better about what I'm eating. If you are thinking about adopting a vegan lifestyle, I recommend these two books as a starting place. Christina Pirello's book is what made me decide that I was going to change my eating habits. And I started with the Kickstart in September last year. It was a really great tool for me to get started on the vegan pathway. I'm not a super vegan or anything, but this has been the right choice for me.

21 Day Vegan Kickstart, Done!

I can't beleive it, but the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart is done! I actually did it! In honour of reaching my goal, I'm going to share 21 things that I learned over the last 22 days.

1. "Going" vegan was not as hard as I expected.
2. I don't miss meat.
3. I'm learning how to cook more things like quinoa.
4. You can get a salad at Wendy's without chicken and save $2.00 on your meal (note to self, remember to ask for it without cheese too).
5. It's possible to find vegan chocolate.
6. I don't hate dark chocolate as much as I thought I did.
7. Reading labels is my newest habit. Good thing I love to read!
8. I like to cook from scratch. I forgot how much!
9. It's not as much of a hassle to follow a vegan diet as I thought it might be.
10. A lot of junk food is vegan, but that doesn't mean it's a healthy food option!
11. I don't crave sugar like I used to.
12. I'm surprised by how much I like following a vegan diet.
13. The thought of eating an animal now makes me sad.
14. I'm learning more about nutrition in general.
15. I still need to find a store which sells some of the more specialized food products.
16. The bulk food store is my new favourite store.
17. I still don't like green onions or white onions, or well, onions.
18. It's easier to say "no" to foods that people try to foist off on you when you know you can't/don't eat it any more.
19. I feel good about eating this way.
20. I feel like I'm finally making headway on being healthier.
21. I'm going to stick with this way of eating. I found the Kickstart was a great way to move into a vegan eating style. It was helpful to have the recipes and motivational messages every day. I may not have read them all, but I know where to find the information if I need it.

21 Day Vegan Kickstart, Week 2

So, I'm over the half way mark in the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart and I'm still following a vegan diet. I've had a couple challenges, but it's getting easier to do.

I have not been following the menu plan this week. I've been loading up on veggies and adding pasta or rice and beans as well as adding lots of fruit. What I need to find is a quick go-to meal for those nights when I really just don't feel like cooking and would normally go out and buy a pizza.

I keep finding myself wanting to add cheese to things, but I have caught myself in time so far. It becomes tempting when the food is something the kids aren't going to eat and normally I would just finish it off for them. Now I'm having to consciously make an effort to leave it.

Benefits? You bet! My pants are starting to fit better. Last week when I put on my jeans, they were very tight and I had more overhang than was comfortable. It's been great to see the overhang (aka "muffin top") shrink over the last couple of weeks. My skin feels better too. I don't know that it looks better yet, but it feels less oily and blemished to me. I've also noticed that I am not craving caffeine, cola or chocolate. This is huge for me because caffeine (usually in the form of diet cola) was what fuelled a lot of my days before. I'm not having my typical mid-afternoon slump where I can barely keep my eyes open and I'm sleeping at night. I'm falling asleep easier and even though I may get up in the middle of the night, I go right back to sleep! I'm still tired, but no where near what it was like before. I'm even having less headaches! Before I would have to have a bottle of acetaminophen in my purse at all times. Now I've had maybe 4 tablets over the last two weeks. So, I'm feeling pretty good, thanks for asking!

I made some Chocolate Raspberry Mousse tonight from the Day 6 menu. It was incredibly easy to make. It's chilling now and I am looking forward to trying it soon! Yummy!