Hello everyone!
Hope you all had a joyous and happy holiday!
But you know what comes next….don’t you?
Yep – those dreaded New Year’s Resolutions.
Are you ready?
I know what mine are. Here’s what I intend for a happy, healthy, 2015.
Brand New Resolutions for 2015
1. Less focus on the word “Vegan”
Yes, this is still a Vegan blog – but lately I have come to realize that the word “vegan” means so many different things to different people. Mostly, I’m afraid it means more of a focus on protecting animals than it does focusing on your own health. And THAT is my ultimate goal – getting healthy!
I mean it is so easy to just stop eating meat and call yourself a vegan.
You can still eat all the nuts and seeds, fake meats and milks, and vegan pizzas topped with daiya cheese you want – and still be vegan. But you won’t necessarily be healthy, if anything you’ll probably just end up getting fat.
A diet of pop chips and diet pepsi is vegan – but we KNOW that’s not healthy.
And all those yummy looking vegan burritos and frozen vegan meals in the freezer are vegan too – but again – not necessarily healthy. (But they do just happen to make some big corporation a ton of money.)
Now I will say that all these new fake burgers and pizzas do make good transition foods – they do make the switch a whole lot easier. But it is so easy to get stuck on them and not take the next step! And in order to really get healthy, you HAVE to take the next step.
No a healthy vegan means getting back to basics. And to me that means just one thing.
Starches
Today we call them ‘complex carbs’, but they’re still starches.
Comfort Foods.
Potatoes, rice, whole grains, beans, peas, and corn.
Entire civilizations have thrived on these basic starches for centuries, without once opening a frozen cooler and reaching for a Vegan Amy’s Pot Pie.
That’s going to be my focus. And you’ll see many more recipes focusing on these simple but healthy foods.
And the cool thing? As we focus on getting healthy and eating more starches, losing the weight, dropping the blood pressure, etc…..we’re going to be helping the animals anyway! It’s a win-win for all of us.
So That’s Resolution #1. Less Vegan and More Starches!
#2. A Healthy Family
For me personally, that means re-reading resolution #1 every time I want to make it a pizza night, or pop a Boca Burger in the microwave because I’m too lazy to cook something.
I personally want to lose 20 pounds. That will put my weight at 175, with a BMI of 23.7. That’s a normal BMI for my height, but still on the high side, so there’s room to lose even more.
I have proven I can’t get there eating the way I have been – so goodbye vegan junk food and hello baked potatoes!
I also want to lower my total cholesterol to less than 150. I haven’t checked mine lately but at the last reading, about a year ago, it was about 175. At my age with my current blood pressure – a heart attack is still a risk. So why not do everything I can to reduce that risk. According to many of the Vegan Doctors I follow – the only way to do that is with a TC of <150.
Lastly, I want a healthy blood pressure of 120/80. I currently don’t take meds, and I want to keep it that way. But when I get lazy and forget my focus, I have had some BP Readings that would make any doctor slap a prescription on me so fast it would make your eyes blink. My wife is still taking BP meds, and suffers from all kinds of side effects.
I hope that as my wife and kids watch my progress over the next year, it will also inspire them to join me on my road to health. I would especially love to see my wife prescription free.
#3. A Healthy Blog
Lastly, it is my hope and wish that I can reach and inspire even more people next year.
I love helping people and so far the comments and kind words I’ve received have really warmed my heart.
Thank you all and let’s make 2015 a year to remember.
It’s a Brand New Year!
Will you join me in creating a Brand New You?
Here’s to 2015!
