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The Kind Life changed my life!
Started
by Natalie Alcala
on December 20, 2009
Hi everyone,
I'm 25 years old - a self-proclaimed fitness, yoga, and health freak. Well, atleast I thought I was a health freak; I gave up meat and dairy some time ago and thought that was enough to keep me healthy, however I didn't realize that I still needed to incorporate protein in my diet to replace the assumed protein in meat. Feeling weak and low energy for months, I went to see my doctor, puzzled because I thought I was doing everything right.
Long story short, my doctor said I was anemic, malnourished, and I needed to start eating meat again in order to regain my strength. "But what about all the other vegetarians/vegans in the world?" I thought, "How come they're not anemic or malnourished?" I valued my doctor's opinion on my matters, but I knew that something was not clicking with her recommendation. I was not going back to meat or dairy and I knew there had to be away that I can be healthy and stick to my principles.
That's when I found The Kind Diet. I've just started the book and am going for the Vegan/Superhero Plan, in hopes to be a full-on Superhero by the second quarter of 2010. I can do it! My pantry is stocked with grains, and I'm pumped to fully commit to this. I already feel healthier after only a few recipes from the book! I still need to take a B12, but that's even mentioned in the book, so it's nothing unusual.
Thanks Alicia for all that you do!!
PS - the brown rice crispie treats are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
-Natalie :)
Hi Natalie :)
I am also anemic. I'm still very new to the kind life, & I have always been told that I 'can't be vegetarian or vegan because of my anemia, but I figured that there has to be other people out there who have the same condition & still lead a healthy vegan lifestyle.
After doing some research online, I discovered that a lot of vegan foods & ingredients have iron in them. I guess it's just a matter of figuring out which ones & making sure you get the required amount of iron everyday, which may mean eating a lot of beans, haha.
Jen :)
Hi Jen!
that's exactly how I feel. Today for lunch I'm having a bed of balsamic-drizzled leafy greens topped with warm brown rice, chickpeas, raisins and almonds! For dinner I'm making the little tofu egg salad finger sandwiches. Can't wait!
xoxo
Hi all! I actually went vegan 9 months ago and thought I was only going to try it for 30 days but after doing all the research about all the benefits I've stuck with it and am loving how I feel every day! A lot of my friends and family (specially Mom) was concerned about the nutrients I would be getting and so I thought I'd try it for several months and then go to the doctor to get checked out. A little over 2 months ago I got blood work done from A-to-Z--and pretty much got EVERYTHING tested. I was pleasantly surprised when my doctor said my counts for all my vitamins/proteins/healthy fat ratio/thryoid/etc was all within a perfect range--enough that I didn't even need to take any multi-vitamin! The only Vitamin I showed a low count for was Vitamin D but that seems to be a pretty common one to have a deficiency in (plus I work all day in an office with no sun exposure lol). I try and drink Rice Milk fortified with calcium and D and do take a D supplement a few times a week but that was IT! So it's def possible and I proved to myself and my family that diet alone really can provide all that you need. I've decided I'll get my blood checked at least once a year to make sure all is in balance but I have faith I'm on a good track :) After reading Alicia's guidelines I've found that I already incorporate a lot of what she suggests as far as having whole grains, a protein, and lots of veggies but what I consistently strive for is more and more variety in all of those departments. Keep reading, keep getting inspired, and keep trying new foods!
Hope this helped shed some light!
That's great Natalie that you're getting on track! Good luck!!
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