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I've been vegan now for about a year and I absolutely love the lifestyle. Recently though, I have been feeling completely run down. I contributed it to the fact that I teach first grade, and the job is draining and there is a high exposure to germs. More importantly, I've been overeating and consuming a good deal of grains, breads (whole grain of course), sweet potatoes, soy ice cream, vegan chocolate, soy milk and cereal... the list goes on and on. It caused me to feel bloated and lethargic. I also found those self critical thoughts creeping in that I have worked so hard to eliminate. It made me realize that maybe there was something deeper going on. Stress, I wondered? Loneliness? What was I trying to medicate with my overeating?
So I sat down, and I wrote, and I figured out a few things that were bothering me personally. And I realized that more of a superhero diet wold help me to feel better physically. Awareness is the key to making changes. So this morning I made a vow to myself, I would balance my vegan diet with more greens. I thumbed through Alecia's superhero section while drinking some hot water and eating my regular morning oatmeal with flax and berries.
Today I ate in a superhero fashion and I am starting to feel human again. Most importantly, my mind is clear and my sullen mood has turned around.
As vegans, we may often think that we are making healthy choices for our bodies and minds. While most of the time that is true, sometimes we may need to be reminded to keep the balance.
I'm going thru something similar. Have been vegan with my boyfriend for over a year now...we run a business together & lately have been having problems with the business that left us stressed out & so short on time we turned to vegan convenience foods, since we couldn't cook from scratch. After about 4 weeks using processed soy meat replacements almost every day (soy sausage, soy ground..you name it) & a lot of bread, potatoes & chocolate too....we feel absolutely awful....tired, pale & spotty ( I have not had any breakouts since going vegan until now). I did the same thing... I got the Kind Diet out & reread the info chapters & looked at the recipes again for inspiration, after just 24 hours of getting back on the wagon, I feel so much better...just had homemade falafel with Alicia's tahini dressing, on rice with a huge green salad on the side with Braggs liquid aminos for dressing. I also read Alicia's recent post about processed soy (article about soy milk alternatives) & realised that I've had way too much processed soy recently...hence spots all over my jawline. You are so right....just avoiding animal products will not make for a healthy balanced diet...it requires a bit of effort to include all the nutricious plants we need but it pays a thousand fold in the feeling of health & well being when you make that effort.
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