No Longer a Vegan

I remember the first time I met a real-life vegan. She was soft. I had envisioned most vegans as heartthrob yogis with bodies of goddesses. This woman was the exact opposite of the picture I had painted.

Photo courtesy of Purushapeople.com

In fact, when I became a vegan in Wyoming, I put on weight. I was eating less, yet my body was storing fat. I never associated the two as being connected until I reintroduced meat into my diet a couple of months ago and almost immediately lost 4 pounds. Hmmmm...

Veganism for me was almost a way of saying, "Hey, look at me. I'm better than you because I have self-control and don't eat meat." But that was stupid.

Last night, Amanda and I went out for Pho. "What is it you normally get?" I asked her.

"P6. Why?"

I ordered the P6.

"That has beef in it, Ash," she informed me.

She was excited to hear I was a carnivore once again.

Here is the thing: We are all made differently. Some of us have bodies that perform best on an all vegetable, fruit and nut diet. Others function better when they have a little meat in their diet.

I highly recommend finding out what food best fuels your body. I can guarantee it does not include cheetos, oreos and soda pop, but never say never to lean meats, nuts or fish! Unless, of course, you have an allergy!

Eat up, run hard and give your body what it needs: R-E-S-P-E-C-T!