Most people do not make major lifestyle changes at the age of 34. They just don't. But I did. And even though I am just a few month into this change, I often sit back and wonder "Why didn't I do this sooner?"
Sure, it is convenient to take the easy road - not watching what you eat, not exercising, etc. Who doesn't love to just sit on their asses and eat some Sonic? But that comes at a price, one that is often unseen.
My ten year old daughter lives with her dad. She informed me this summer that she no longer wanted to eat meat. I was not surprised; she really has a heart for loving animals. But...she is a growing kid and needs certain levels of vitamins and nutrients for her development. So, like any good researcher, I went to the Internet. I researched what being a vegetarian would entail and how I can make sure she is getting enough of what she needed. As my summer closed and I went home to Vegas, something surprising started to happen. I began to eat more vegetarian as if to support my daughter from 1,700 miles away. Then as school started up, more and more people in my department - people I respect and consider 'friends' - began eating vegan. I thought that I could never do it because, let's face it, sometime I think cheese and butter are the greatest things man has ever come up with...I mean, after the wheel and fire, of course.
One night I am out to dinner with a few friends. We hit up this place called Bar & Bistro in downtown Las Vegas. Unbeknownst to us, the chef had just released their new vegan menu (which is phenomenal BTW). I didn't eat vegan that night but that was the night I went vegan. We ordered a small vegan dessert to share - a chocolate cake with ice cold rice milk. I don't particularly eat sweets all that often but I took a small bite of cake and a sip of the rice milk, and I was SOLD. I did not realize how yummy non-dairy substitutes could be. In the next days I began exploring other vegan options and found myself loving the alternatives more than I loved what I had been eating all this time. I slowly began transitioning to a vegan lifestyle. Additionally, I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives and that cemented my change.
I am not a vegan out of ideology or for political reasons. Some friends tell me I am not a big 'V' vegan but rather a little 'v' vegan, and I am OK with that. I give myself permission to not eat vegan on occasion, and I still wear leather. This is about health. This is about me making a change in my life that I should've made a long time ago.
I also began working out. Running, spinning, Pilates, Yoga, and weights. Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day 2011, before we sit down to our vegan/vegetarian potluck, my friends and I are running a 5K. It is my first one. If there are no subsequent blog posts, assume I died.
All in all, what matters most at the end of the day is that I: (1) LOVE my life; (2) LIVE my life; (3) VALUE those in my life; and (4) HAVE GOTTEN OFF MY ASS TO MAKE A CHANGE. It may not be perfect but it is mine. We only have this one, finite life to live. Live it and love it like there is no tomorrow!
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