Balanced Living: What I Eat as a High Carb Low Fat Vegan

I'm going to start of by stating that I do not follow trends, I'm highly educated (formally), I'm a researcher so I'm used to finding out information in the work or science and research, and educate myself daily.

Why the disclaimer? That's just to detract from anyone assuming that I made an ill informed decision. I made this choice much as I do every other important decision in my life, and obsessively researched the topic before I started.

Now onto the actual post.....

Even a year ago I would have laughed if you told me that I'd be vegan one day, my response would have been "Cheese and eggs though..." yet here we are.

I'm writing this post because I seem to have the same conversation over and over. People always ask if I'm 'still doing the vegan thing' and when I tell them yes, they look at me with pity in their eyes and respond with some variation of 'it must be so hard!' Then they go on to tell me how they are somehow 'proud' of me for doing this, but they can't do it themselves because they love food too much... 

I'm here to tell you that it really isn't hard at all and no, you probably don't love food more than I do.  

I LOVE food and I'm constantly stuffing my face with foods that I absolutely love. I eat a high-carb, high-protein, planet based diet, and I've never felt better. No I do not miss animal products in my diet, in fact I hardly ever think about them at all. I do not have cravings, I'm also never hungry because I eat an abundance of delicious fruit and veggies all day long.

What does a typical food day look like to me? See below: Breakfast banana smoothie, fruit all day, and dinner of rice, roasted veggies, and beans.

Benefits of my current diet:

1. I'm always full and satisfied because I don't have to 'watch what I eat'. 
2. I have lots of energy. I keep my blood sugar levels up and constant, so I don't crash at any point during the day.
3. The more you eat healthy things, the more you crave those same things. So cheese cravings... nonexistent. 
4. When eating high-fat and calorie dense animal products, you normally experience lethargy following your meal. Now, I don't feel like I need to take an hour nap after every meal, because my food leaves me feeling energized. 
5. I eat as much as I want (about 2500 cal) and I don'[t worry about weight gain. 

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I hope this information helped you to at least consider a vegan diet. If you're interested in how I transitioned to a vegan diet (I did transition gradually) see my video below! 

Enjoy. Be Healthy. Be Happy

Minimalism: Questions To Ask Yourself When Decluttering

Realizing that you've crowded your life with clutter and deciding to do something about it is only the first step...

It's hard enough visualizing ridding yourself of 70% of your belongings, but do you know what's even harder? Looking at each item that you own, and deciding if you're going to keep it or not. When you look at an item that you own; whether your bought it or were gifted with it, it can be hard to figure out if this is something you should hold on to or find a new home for. As humans we get attached easily to our possessions and most times our 'reasons' for keeping certain things are nothing more than excuses. 

You need to visualize the end goal and dedicate yourself to it.

Here are some questions that I think will help you cut through the excuses and make your declutter more effective. I literally have this inner dialogue when I look at every single item, and it hasn't failed me yet!

1. Do I currently use this regularly?

This is especially important for items that you consider staples because you've had them for a long time and you've worn them a ton in the past. While that may make you feel some sort of sentimental attachment to the items, it really is important to think about your current relationship with the items. If you no longer use them, then it's time to let them go. 

2. How long have you had it and how much have you used it in that time?

This is somewhat related to the first point. If you've had an item for a long time and gotten lots of use out of it, it should not feel like a betrayal to get rid of it if it no longer is part of your daily life. In fact, if it is something that you've used a ton in the past, then you should be happy that you got your 'money's worth' out of the item and you can move on. 

3. Would you buy this exact item again if you saw it in stores now?

 This is a great way to determine the value of an item. Many of us tend to hold on to things because we already own them and don't want to waste money. After all, what if you need it a week after you give it away? Let's be honest here, the chances of that happening with an item you haven't touched in months or years is slim to none. Think about the item as something on a shelf in a store, and think about you current lifestyle. Would you go to the store and buy this item today? If not, then it's probably not something that you're likely to miss. 

4. What things do you truly value in your possessions?

maybe you love your status designer pieces, maybe sentimental value is of utmost importance, or maybe you value practicality above all else. Regardless of how you chose to identify value in your possessions, hone in on that and get rid of things that have little or no value. 

5. Do I actually love this thing, or do I use it just because I have it?

This is a distinction I know that changed my life on this journey. I would buy an item of clothing because I thought it looked great, and it would hang in my closet for a while. I still think it looks great, but it doesn't really go with anything and I really don't have anywhere to wear it to. It's mine, I own it, and so I'm going to find a way! So I wear it... I don't love the outfit and I don't think it's necessarily appropriate for the venue, but since the piece is beautiful (and MINE) I will wear it. When I'm going through my closet, I now see it as a great piece that I wear. Don't fall into this trap. Get rid of those items that you force yourself to use, your belongings should not be in charge of you.

Enjoy. Be Healthy. Be Happy

Minimalism: Why I'm Decluttering My Life

I think I just liked owning things....

I'm not the kind of person who goes out and buys 500 things at once, but that doesn't mean that my possessions do no eventually overwhelm me. 

I grew up in St. Lucia, which is one of the MOST beautiful places on the planet, but is also an expensive place to live. Fashion, beauty, and home-wares are extremely pricey there, so we were all taught to take care of our things growing up. Now I live in the US and everything is much more affordable so I generally shop more, but I still take care of my things and they last forever...

 The clutter crept up on me gradually. I gained some weight in college which I have since lost most of so my body is completely different. This means that I have been gradually shopping for a whole new wardrobe, but since my old clothes were in such great shape, I never got rid of them. I also moved from the east Coast to Indianapolis where the style is more casual ( if you can even call it style...) and so the types of things I wear on a regular basis have also changed. This resulted in a walk-in closet, and four draws that were bursting at the seams with clothing. That's not including the other drawers that held workout clothing, socks, leggings, lounge wear, and lets not forget shoes..... 

Some of you might not see what's wrong with having this much stuff... options are good right?...

Well here's how this affected me. Whenever I had to get dressed or ready for something it would take FOREVER to figure out an outfit. I hated looking through my stuff, and the majority of my things went unworn and I forgot some of them existed. It was also hard to keep neat and I always experienced anxiety when I had to get dressed, and guilt for the stuff that I wasn't wearing. 

So I went ahead and downsized in a major way. I probably got rid of 75% of all of my clothing and shoes!!!

This is now all of my clothing besides underwear, workout clothes, and basics. All of my basics fit in one drawer of my dresser, and I got rid of the drawers that previously held loungewear, workout clothes, swimsuits etc.

This shoe shelf used to hold three pairs per section, but I got rid of all the shoes that I simply didn't love anymore and didn't need to hold on to.

I even went ahead and applied this to the other parts of my life like my office space (aka desk) you see here. 

Check out my video below for more reasons to simplify your life and stop being held down by your possessions.

Enjoy. Be Healthy. Be Happy