Plant Based June (Formerly Vegan June)
What is Vegan?
It is basically a plant-based diet. Swearing off any animal products or animal byproducts. No meat, fish, eggs, or dairy. I highly recommend you watch the documentary “Forks Over Knives” on Netflix before you start Vegan June and read 7 Things That Happen When You Stop Eating Meat.
What do I suggest the average pudgy American will attain during these 30 days?
- 6% potential weight loss with no portion control (see NY Times article – “The Key to Weight Loss is Diet Quality, not Quantity”). It can be dangerous to “diet” and go vegan at the same time. Don’t limit your portions! The weight loss many times doesn’t start kicking in for 10 days. Be careful of too much starch – potatoes and rice. Make sure you keep up or increase your exercise.
- If you have high cholesterol, a marked drop in just 30 days. If you continue on for 60 days the drop will be even more pronounced
- A 30 day open window into how wonderful a plant-based diet can taste and hopefully a path to alter your diet and health going forward
Why Vegan June?
I have always been physically fit. I have weighed +/- 5 lbs of what I weighed since my early twenties. Following a health incident I had several years ago, I began to contemplate more about my long-term health. My Dad (4), Uncle (4 + stroke), and Grandfather (at least 2) all had multiple bypass surgeries – I was beginning to see the end of my movie and I didn’t like it. I decided to do something about it.
I was attending a conference several years ago with a fellow Capital Group associate, Dan Jess. Dan was, and still is, an extraordinarily accomplished runner and was sponsored by Mizuno at the time. I couldn’t help but notice how intentional he was with almost everything he put in his mouth. I finally asked him what blogs or books I should read to enlighten me on nutrition. He strongly encouraged me to read The China Study by Colin Campbell. The book highly recommends a plant-based vegan diet for long-term health.
I asked him, “where will I get my protein?” He replied, “Brian, I went vegan for 2 months and within that 2 month period I had two 100+ mile training weeks. I had absolutely no degradation in performance.” That was all I needed to hear. If you have ever had even a 75 mile training week you will surely agree.
GETTING ENOUGH PROTEIN ON A DIVERSIFIED PLANT BASED DIET IS NOT AN ISSUE.
Read these:
Top 5 Surprising Facts About Eating Healthy
10 Protein Packed Plants
Several weeks later I began a 9 week vegan trial with a blood test on each end. My cholesterol dropped from 238 to 184 and I lost about 10 pounds. I had a couple people comment during that period that I had “nice skin.” I had never in my life had anyone ever tell me I had nice skin. The minor aches and pains in my joints subsided due to less inflammation in my body.
I like food too much to be a full time vegan. During the rest of the year, I eat some meat, but dramatically less than I used to. I just prefer great plant-based foods a lot more due to my first vegan experiment in 2011. I eat considerably less dairy, but I do eat more fish and eggs now. My joint pain is still at a minimum even in my non-vegan only months.
How?
There are all sorts of resources out there to help you, but I would start with www.forksoverknives.com. When I used to travel more often, I found being vegan was even easier. I do NOT recommend giving up alcohol during Vegan June. That is what is called cruel and unusual punishment. Be careful not to eat too many starches – potatoes and rice.
The following are some helpful hints:
Forks Over Knives - Plant-Based Meal Planning Made Easy
Snacks – Keep them on hand at all times just in case you are struggling to find something vegan.
- Craisins, raisins, any type of nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, celery sticks, carrot sticks, apples, oranges, etc. Be creative.
- Pita bread and hummus
My fail safe “meal” when I am in a hurry is peanut butter on a toasted bagel.
Breakfast – I usually have oatmeal with craisins/nuts or I have a bagel with Peanut Butter. Most non-grocery store bagels are vegan. Some of my friends have toast (make sure no dairy in the bread, ex. Sourdough is safe and Ezekiel bread) with sunflower seed butter. Use Non-Dairy Creamer for your coffee.
Lunch – I go to a local Asian restaurant and order tofu with mixed vegetables in a brown sauce with rice. You can always find something vegan that is tasty at an Asian restaurant. A vege bowl (no cheese please) from Chipotle works great or a tofu bowl from Moes. If I am out for lunch for business and struggling to find something, I will just ask the waiter to have the kitchen stir fry some vegetables for me “with some flavor”. I have never had a problem.
Dinner – Normally I make a very large portion for dinner so I can have it for lunch the next day or freeze for future use. A staple of mine is to steam brown rice and then roast any of a number of vegetables to serve on top.
- Brussel Sprouts (I hated them for years!) – Cut in half and toss in a gallon zip lock with balsamic vinegar, olive/grapeseed oil and spices of your choice. Roast at 400+ in oven for 30+ minutes.
- Cauliflower (I hated it for years!) - Cut in pieces and spray/brush with olive/grapeseed oil and spices of your choice. Roast at 400+ in oven for 30+ minutes.
- Cabbage – Slice in ¼ inch pieces (with stem facing down on counter) and spray/brush with olive/grapeseed oil and spices of your choice. Roast at 400+ in oven for 30+ minutes. This tastes similar to those wonderful string onions at a nice steak house.
- Tacos – Heat black beans (instead of ground beef or turkey) with taco mix and Rotelle mix and serve in corn tortillas with salsa and other fixings (but no cheese). Put leftover beans over brown rice for lunch the next day. I much prefer beans over meat now.
Use your imagination!
For those still debating whether to join the Vegan June journey, I will leave you with some sage words from George Bernard Shaw:
“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
Contact me if I can help.
To health and fulfilling later years!
Brian E. Whalen, CFP®, CIMA®
Stribling~Whalen Financial Group
e: brian.whalen@striblingwhalen.com
ph: 678-989-0834
www.striblingwhalen.com
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