Have you ever watched the Netflix Documentary, “The Game Changers?”  If not, you should really consider it.  It’s packed with a ton of helpful information that will make you rethink your eating habits.  Jeremy and I recently watched it one weekend and it drastically influenced us to want to try a plant-based lifestyle.  You’ll see me use the word ‘lifestyle’ in place (or before) the word diet because I’m a firm believer in healthy eating being a lifestyle choice rather than a restriction.  As you know, I prefer an 80/20 Paleo lifestyle, while always trying to remain gluten free and dairy free.  So, let’s get a breakdown of the differences between Paleo and Plant Based.

PALEO DIET

You’ve probably heard this described as the caveman diet.  A Paleo lifestyle lays the foundation for healthy eating by eliminating processed and sugary foods and replacing them with whole unprocessed foods like leafy greens, fresh vegetables, nuts, fruit, grass-fed meats, free-range poultry, and wild-caught fish.  So what’s not considered Paleo?  Basically all of the things you probably ate and loved as a child; dairy, wheat and grains, refined sugar, refined oils, processed foods, soy, peanuts, and corn.  It’s a lot to cut out, but it’s very doable because of all the food alternatives companies are making for cheese, milk, and even bread.  The paleo lifestyle speaks to those who need a gluten free diet as well as those who need a diary free diet due to certain conditions or circumstances.  It can also be an expensive lifestyle to maintain due to specialty ingredients. 

PLANT BASED DIET

Also known as the Vegetarian or Vegan Diet, the main things you’re erasing from your daily food intake are processed foods, meat, poultry, fish and seafood.  Anything that came from animal slaughter is crossed off the list and you’re replacing that protein source with grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, and dairy (if you’re vegetarian).  If you’re not opposed to removing meat from your diet than this a very easy lifestyle to maintain.  There are tons of health benefits from plant based eating and since you do not need to buy meat for a plant based lifestyle, you actually save a bit of money on groceries.  

 

MY EXPERIMENT WITH PLANT BASED VS. PALEO

Let me start with a short back story as to why I chose a Paleo lifestyle.  In 2008, I was diagnosed with medullary sponge kidney, which is a congenital disorder (present at birth) that causes small cysts to form in the kidney(s).  This led me to continuously get urinary tract infections and TONS (20+) of calcium oxalated kidney stones that caused me to have surgery after surgery.  It also led to my physician giving me the nickname ‘stoner.’

In 2012, after a double kidney stone surgery and being on a lot of antibiotics, I started toget extremely sick and ended up in the hospital for weeks and weeks.  I was ultimately diagnosed with C-Diff and that lasted for eight months, but continued to give me a lifetime of gastrointestinal issues after being treated.  If you don’t know what C-Diff is, I will spare you too many details and just say it involves a lot of diarrhea, vomiting, and very little eating.  As someone who loves to eat and didn’t need to lose any weight, I lost 14 pounds in less than two weeks and felt the weakest I had ever felt in my life.  Shortly after recovering, I started cutting out a lot of unhealthy foods to prevent more kidney stones from forming and to help with any stomach issues that remained, which is what sparked my decision to turn to a Paleo lifestyle.

Off my life rant and back to my experiment.  I tried a vegetarian, somewhat vegan, lifestyle for two weeks.  I still remained gluten free and dairy free, so I only ate gluten free protein sources like Beyond Meat, quinoa, lentils, black beans, and chickpeas.  It’s a common misconception that it’s hard as a vegan or vegetarian to eat an adequate amount of protein, but I actually felt full and never overly hungry with the protein sources that were allowed.  And surprisingly, eliminating meat was not hard for me at all.  I never craved it and could still cook the kid’s food and not be tempted to eat a single bite.  The hardest part for me was not knowing what to base my meals around.  Typically when I cook, I make my side dishes based off the meat that I chose to make as the main dish so that it all pairs well together.  I didn’t know what the heck to make as a vegetarian.  I basically roasted a ton of vegetables for the week, added a couple of protein sources and threw it on a salad.  Sounds pretty boring, but it was still tasty and filling.  Although, a few days into eating only plant based, my body was not happy with me.  The grains and legumes were not my friend.  My stomach problems returned and my skin was breaking out like crazy.  Hence why the diet only lasted for two weeks.  I probably could have stuck with it much longer if the skin and stomach complications didn’t return.

MY TOP 5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EXPERIMENT:

• The transition is easier than you think, but it takes a lot of preparation in the beginning.
• Everyone is different and if you do not have certain dietary restrictions then a plant-based diet may be a smart choice due to the amount of health benefits research studies have proven.
• Despite the complications from eating grains and legumes, I could tell that I had a decrease of inflammation in my body, especially in the mornings, and I never felt heavy or ‘too full’ after eating a meal, but I was still satisfied.
• Eliminating animal products actually helped save money and it forces you to think about what you want to eat for the week and what groceries to buy.
• All things considered, it was fun to try something new, challenge myself, and to figure out what worked for me and what didn’t.

Although a plant-based diet didn’t work for me, it did help me realize that I don’t need to eat animal products all the time nor do I want to now.  I will continue remaining mostly Paleo, but Jeremy and I have every intention of being plant based twice a week.  Every little bit counts, right?  I was already eating quinoa and gluten-free oats as protein sources since it didn’t bother my stomach, so substituting those protein sources along with nuts and nut butters would be a good swap for me on my plant-based days.  I guess you called say that this experiment has created me to become a ‘flexitarian’, but all labels aside, I am just going to continue making healthy choices with an open mind and intuitive eating.