When I first started, I was about 20 pounds heavier than I wanted to be & I did nothing but eat garbage & sit around all day. This was tough for me as an athlete, because I had been so active all my life that I never had to worry about the food I was eating & the effect it was having on my body.
Fast forward a year and a half later, & I have never felt better about my body. Unfortunately, as a vegan with a renewed metabolism & an extremely busy junior in college....eating 5 times a day is not as easy as it used to be. Now my problem has been learning how to maintain my weight without compromising my vegan lifestyle. My mother passed on the ability to lose weight easily, but before you react, it's really not as great as it sounds. If I skip one or two meals for a SINGLE day, I will lose weight. I never skip meals intentionally. More often than not, I'm running around juggling 8 classes, a production schedule to release my future EP, and the other blog I run for Berklee's LiveWell department. So, forgive a girl for not always getting full course meals in.
In order to maintain a healthy weight & an active lifestyle, I have to constantly remind myself to snack on something every couple of hours or so. That said, in any dietary lifestyle, it's very important to intake a substantial amount of healthy fats. I'm sure you've heard about this before. The beautiful thing is that Mother Nature has provided us, in all her wisdom, plenty of plant-based sources for healthy fats. Nuts & seeds are a fabulous choice as well as my personal fatty favorite, avocado.
When you decide to eat healthier, try not to over analyze it. Our bodies are incredibly magnificent & they already know what they need! But we hardly ever listen. I have found that the best way to make the transition to plant-based diets is to simply start adding the good stuff. Experiment taking meat out one week, increasing the amount of green vegetables in your meals. Then when you get the hang of that, you could start easing the chicken out, and play around with other vegetables you probably didn't even know existed! And so forth. Take your time & enjoy the process.
Cashew Veggie Rice
Makes 1 Serving
1 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup favorite veggies (I love green beans with this)
-feel free to experiment using raw or cooked veggies, or both!
2 tablespoons shoyu (gluten-free soy sauce)
A handful of raw cashews
1/2-1 avocado
Combine the brown rice, veggies, shoyu & cashews. Mix until just combined. Slice desired amount of avocado over the mixture & serve warm. Eat & be comforted.
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