Vegan to Carnivore

There is a lot of noise and buzz words around food and nutrition in the health/wellness world that can make you feel stuck or being pulled in so many directions. Currently, lot of people are trending towards plant based eating. There’s a lot of hype around it being better for you or even better for the planet. While yes, there can be some truth to it being better for the planet but it’s all about WHERE and HOW you are getting your food.

I first began my true journey with wellness in my last year of undergrad as a college athlete. Prior, I just ate what was given to me, what was the cheapest to cook, or used on my body what I was used to. I started making my own deodorant around then and buying some healthier options of food. When I started Physical Therapy school summer of 2016, I went off birth control cold turkey. I started having gut, skin, energy and menstrual issues not long after.

I was going to all these conventional doctors and getting all these labs and blood work done. Everything was coming back ‘normal’ and yet I was still having all of these issues. None of the conventional doctors were guiding or supporting me during this time. So, I switched to a functional medicine doctor. Who brought me through different tests, labs, and started alternative treatments + supplements. I had a food intolerance test done. It was found that I had a dairy and grain + sugar intolerance. Next, step was to cut out dairy and do my best to avoid grains + sugar together.

I fell into a plant based lifestyle in 2019, I had already eliminated the dairy from my life and decided why not give up meat to try it out. It was more like a challenge to myself to see if I could do it. I also wanted to continue to reduce my carbon footprint on the earth due to the packaging of meat. 

I didn’t like to use the word vegan because I still used honey where traditional vegans don’t use any animal products. During my time of eating plant based, I will share with you that my acne was under control/cleared. My bowel movements/symptoms had improved but still wasn’t optimal. My cycle was still longer than it should be but improving. My energy was decent looking back on it from where it was in 2016 when I started having all my issues. During my time of eating plant based, we conceived R. I was eating plant based throughout my entire pregnancy and into postpartum.

I can say I ate a ‘healthier’ plant based life style than some where I purposely sourced my food without packaging where I could. I wasn’t always buying junk because I didn’t want to have waste going into my trash can. I was mostly eating this way for the environment.

Now, eating plant foods can be better for the environment IF you are locally sourcing or growing the food you are eating. If you continue to buy foods shipped from around the world and/or vegan foods in packaging… there is no difference to the meat and agriculture industries. Both produce and insane amount of waste. My eyes were opened to the agriculture industry by the Netflix documentary Kiss the Ground.

My eyes were TRULY OPENED by some knowledgable women on social media that are experts in eating pro-metabolically to support your physiology. Pro-metabolic eating is about supporting your organs, hormones, and balancing the minerals in your body with FOOD. A mark that not even my functional medicine doctor hit.

I have forgone my plant based eating to a more pro-metabolic style to support my body and my hormones. To truly nourish and heal my body through food. I focus on sourcing high quality meat and eggs from local farmers. I buy fruits/veggies that are in season or products of the USA. I am starting to slowly incorporate raw cheese and grass-fed butter into my lifestyle. I am on a waitlist of a local farmer to buy raw dairy. I have turned a complete 360 from how I was previously eating.

At first, I was embarrassed to share that I have shifted my perspective so drastically on food. I always admired people that could say they were vegan or vegetarian for 20 years. I thought, dang that is some amazing dedication and discipline. I guess, maybe I wanted to try and accomplish that too? I am not sure.

 Am I saying vegan or plant based eaters can’t thrive off of the food they eat? Absolutely not. You can absolutely thrive off a plant based diet if you are supporting your body with the right amount of nutrients and minerals from the food you choose to eat. It’s all about quality and source. I don’t live in a climate conducive to getting the highest quality plant based options year round. This became an important factor for me to let go of that way of eating.

Today, my digestion is on point, my energy is better than it has ever been, my cycle has not yet returned at 16 months pp but I still exclusively breastfeed through to night so I don’t expect it to just yet, and my skin couldn’t be better. I am thriving on new lifestyle shift.

Have you felt pressure to eat a certain way due to mainstream media or social media marketing? Leave a comment below.