The Vegan comparison.
Let me start by saying I’m not 100% vegan, but for the past 5 or so months I have been at about 85%. I’ve gone from being a huge consumer of meats (4-5 times a day) to maybe eating it once or twice a week. I make a conscious decision to try to eat more vegan and for me, this process is all about learning more about eating vegan and seeing how my body reacts. This is an experiment, to learn more about my body and the human body in general, more specifically when it comes to fitness and how (if any) impact it could have. I want to continue to improve on that 85% as I know it is not only a healthier option for my body but also the impact of the environment.
This post is not about trying to cram vegan life down your throat (food analogy) but more share my experience, my research and my continued learning process, heck I still do eat animal products- be that a lot less. I’m not one to tell you how you should or shouldn’t live your life, but being open to learning about new things is always good for the mind, body and soul.
Vegan food has long copped the stigma of being boring and bland. In the fitness world where “PROTEIN” is king, it’s often considered detrimental to be vegan. I mean, how do you get protein without meat? I’m speaking from experience because for so long I thought that I couldn’t hit my daily protein intake without eating animal proteins, and if I could I would have to eat a huge amount of fats alongside it (nuts etc) which I just didn’t want to do. I also worried about the accessibility and the ease to which I could get vegan protein from, I mean I could just throw a stack of chicken breasts in the oven and have days worth of meals ready… I can’t be bothered prepping and making every meal. But as I learnt more, opened my mind to different methods (as I did with my training, ditching weights for bodyweight), spoke to friends, researched products, it became more and more obvious that it wasn’t so hard to hit protein numbers and even more importantly eat fun, delicious foods.
Veganism is definitely becoming more mainstream, companies we know and trust are now putting out vegan ranges. From ice cream and candy to ‘meat” alternatives there really is a wide range of foods to eat that won’t hinder your variety.
I wanted to share a recent comparison photo showing two meal options;
1: Plant-based vegan protein meal
2: Animal-based protein meal
As you can see the calories and macros are pretty much both the same, no lack of protein on the plant-based side either. The difference here is the amount of food and also the extra greens and vegetable-based foods which would also provide more vitamins, minerals and generally good stuff. Me, being a hungry person who loves food and ALWAYS wants to eat, plant-based food gives me just that opportunity without the food coma/sickness/bloating you normally get after eating a huge meal. There is no denying that our body brakes down plant-based based food easier than meats, that’s a scientific fact! If that’s the case then it also means that our body has more time for other important functions rather than using huge amounts of energy to simply digest a single meal, let alone meal upon meal.
It’s also a scientific fact that red meat does increase inflammation in the body and on top of that fact, both red and white meat (poultry) has a very murky past (and present) of adding harmful chemicals to the food the animals eat which in turn, get passed on to us, think crazy animal steroids, antibiotics, and other cancer-causing nasty stuff. Again, let me remind you that I’m not 100% vegan and I still eat meat, just be it less and less as I keep experimenting, it purely comes down to convenience for me as I am learning.
I will choose vegan options over non-vegan options and that is based on the above facts, they cannot be denied. Animal products do contain dangerous chemicals that directly impact us, and even if you’re confident they haven’t been juiced up- there is also undeniable facts of how long the body takes to process this type of food, it’s just common sense which option stresses your body more. Throw dairy into the mix and the fact humans are the only mammals who drink another animals milk and still drink milk after infant development is a little gross. So regardless of where you stand on harmful additives, you cannot deny that it stresses our bodies more, we are already so stressed, run down and tired in today’s go-go-go lifestyle, why would we want to add to that if we had the option otherwise?
The prevalence of diseases in humans that are becoming more and more common, specifically stomach and digestive diseases. Cancers of the colon and stomach, skin diseases, all which are becoming more and more obvious to what can contribute to these and in turn, what can help heal, cure and prevent these. DIET. More specifically, higher amounts of plant-based foods, less of animal-based foods!
Another positive in my mind that comes from veganism is the impact it has on the environment. A good friend of mine has to be a major player in helping me learn more about this side of things too and something I may not have selfishly cared about if it wasn’t for my 2-year-old son, Harley. What type of world do I want him to grow up in, climate change, pollution and the total demise of the plant and eco-system as we know it today- are all directly impacted by our farming of animals for food. We aren’t that far off from a world where oceans become fishless, just ask millions of fisherman worldwide who are coming home with less and less and that is a scary thought.
Humans have directly caused extinction to countless animals species while destroying forests worldwide which actually help us live (think air pollution), which again if you think about it, is just insane. We destroy forests and huge amounts of nature which help clean the air we breathe, to farm animals for us to eat, which have a negative impact on our health so who are we really looking after?
Of course, there is the argument of the farmers, what will they do? How will they be able to provide a living for themselves, communities, families? This debate along with the environment could go on and on, but when it comes down to it, industries adapt and change. Video shops got wiped out when DVD’s came along, DVD’s became almost extinct when Netflix came about and still industries move along, Think electric car industry in only the past 3 years, think companies who have switched to manufacturing plant-based milk (coconut, almond etc) who are now making 10 times as much as they were from selling cows milk. There is always the ability to evolve.
I hope this blog post has given you some more insight, even just adding more vegan options as replacements to your current diet will make a world of difference to your body. Do it for selfish reasons such as your own personal health if you don’t care about the environment, because, just like me, the difference felt is real, and that too can’t be argued!
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Matt