How Eating Plant-Based Changed my Body & Mind
Posted on February 2, 2021
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Have you ever heard the phrase “It takes 21 days to form a new habit”? I’ve heard this idea from countless self-help authors, speakers, etc. over the years. If only you could stick with something for 21 days then your new habit will stick! Well, I’m here to tell you, that is a myth. *womp womp* The whole idea was birthed by Dr. Maxwell Maltz who observed that it seemed to take at least three weeks for his plastic surgery patients to start getting used to their new image. Over the years, that idea morphed into the, “it takes 21 days to form a new habit” idea that we’re constantly fed today. In reality, it actually takes more like two months for a new habit to stick!
So what I’m trying to say here is, I didn’t create any new habits in the past three weeks, but gosh darn it – I’m feeling great! I challenged myself to eat a plant-based diet after a stretch of having eaten WAY too much cheese and sweets and other heavy junk. I was feeling like absolute garbage, and it was starting to interfere with my life! To my surprise, this way of eating was actually much easier to stick to than expected. Today I am sharing with you what I ate, and how those foods are changing my body and mind. If you’re thinking about experimenting with a plant-based diet, I hope my experience can provide a little encouragement for you along your journey!
Plant-Based: What I Ate
Let me start by letting you know that at the time of this intro to full-time plant-based living I had already been a vegetarian for about a year and a half and had experimented with a lot of plant-based meals for 4-5 years prior. I think this is important to note because since I already had that experience with plant-based meals, it wasn’t a far leap to apply that knowledge to all meals.
So what kinds of foods did I eat? Fruits & veggies. So many fruits and veggies. Especially: wild blueberries, banana, oranges, blackberries, celery juice, potato, sweet potato, avocado, and leafy greens. Also, cashews (made into vegan creams & cheeses), oats, and lentils. I found recipes on Pinterest, but most of my recipes came from Medical Medium, Anthony William. He has a TON of recipes on his blog and Instagram.
I also ate often. My current schedule is to eat something every 2-3 hours! It has been great at keeping my blood sugar stable.
Sample Plant-Based Eating Schedule
This is an example of what and when I ate each day.
7:30 am – Breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with wild blueberries & blackberries on top
9:30 am – Snack: Grapes
11:00 am – Lunch Part 1: Spinach salad with fresh cilantro, cherry tomato, avocado, and a light balsamic vinaigrette
1:00 pm – Lunch Part 2: Baked potato topped with homemade, dairy-free queso
3:30 pm – Snack: An orange and/or an apple
6:30 pm – Dinner: Sun-Dried Tomato and Coconut Braised Chickpeas
Better Focus
Before my swap over to plant-based eating, I was experiencing brain fog. I was sleeping 7 or 8 hours per night and working out consistently, but even then I was still having trouble focusing. For an achiever like me, it was very frustrating. I started supplementing with more caffeine and sugary treats in hopes of upping my productivity. While it usually helped temporarily, in the long run, I started to feel worse because the rush of caffeine & refined sugar was draining my adrenals! It felt like I was stuck in a vicious cycle.
Switching to this new way of eating included cutting out refined sugars. Since I still had a sweet tooth, I subbed in LOTS of fresh, organic fruits (as you can see in my sample meal plan above). Before this, I didn’t eat much fruit – maybe had a handful of blueberries, or an apple, each day.
However, what I was learning through Anthony William (Medical Medium) was that not only does fruit have properties that soothe my overworked adrenals, but it has incredible healing effects on the entire body – especially the brain! In this book, he says, “You can’t function as a human being without glucose, the simple sugar into which your body breaks down foods. Glucose fuels your brain, your nervous system, and the cells throughout your body.” And he was not exaggerating! Within a few days of this new way of eating I could already feel the benefits. My brain fog has been lifting and I can focus for longer periods again!
Pain Subsided
Since high school, I’ve experienced chronic low back pain. The severity varies, but pretty much always I have some level of tension or stiffness lurking just above my right butt cheek. Yoga, stretching, and massage help, but it always comes back.
After about a week of eating a full-on plant-based diet, I noticed that pain wasn’t there. And now, a few weeks later and it is still gone! Once I removed the foods that were causing inflammation in my body, and replaced them with healing fruits and veggies, my back feels as good as new! I can bend and squat without the pinching and tension!
Confidence Boost
Like I mentioned in the intro, 21 days doesn’t automatically mean you’ve created a new habit, but I feel well on my way to having plant-based eating become second nature! Sticking to the challenge I set for myself gave me a boost in my confidence!
But, my confidence grew in other ways as well. Seeing the positive impact plant-based eating has had on my health is so encouraging. I am finally experiencing relief from things I thought were going to just be part of my life forever (how depressing would that be?!).
And, bonus!!! Eating plant-based has significantly decreased bloating and inflammation in my body which has resulted in a more trim appearance! I can’t complain about that! I’m walking a little taller these days (and without pain!).
The Excuses
I always told myself I’d never be able to actually eat a full-on plant-based diet because it would be too difficult, boring, and expensive. It turns out that I was mostly wrong about that. I say mostly because it can be time-consuming to make a meal if you’re used to a lot of pre-packaged meals or fast food. And, depending on where you do your shopping, organic produce can be on the pricey side.
However, it doesn’t have to be any of those things. Here are some tips:
- Meal Prep. I like to cook, so I usually cook dinner most nights and eat leftovers for lunch the next day. But, I do bake a bunch of potatoes & sweet potatoes to have for the week for a quick meal.
- Make large batches. One of my go-to meals is Sweet Potato & Lentil chili. I make a huge batch of it in the crockpot and always have plenty leftover for many meals throughout the week. This is a fantastic time saver!
- Shop at Aldi. If you have an Aldi store nearby but aren’t shopping there, you are missing out! Aldi has great prices and tons of organic options!
- Think of the meals you love, and look for a plant-based alternative. There are SO many plant-based recipes online these days – it’s hard not to find a delicious alternative to something you love. I definitely would not have been able to stick with this challenge if I was stuck with eating salads for every meal.
Conclusion
Man, I feel like a whole new human after following through on my challenge of eating plant-based for 21 days! And, I feel well on my way to turning those 21 days into a lifelong habit! The positive changes I’ve experienced over these three weeks are something I never want to end!
If you’re curious about plant-based eating but have hesitated about going all-in, I hope you’ve found some encouragement in this post. Try to challenge yourself to commit to 21 days as I did, and see for yourself how simple & beneficial eating a plant-based diet for only 3 weeks can be!
I love sharing about my meals over on my Instagram! If you need some recipe ideas, hit me up on Insta or shoot me an email and I’ll share all my favs with you! I wish you the best of luck as you venture out on your plant-based journey!
