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Plant based (Ish)

A few weeks ago I made the switch from meat eater to my own strange combination of vegetarian, flexitarian, vegan (ish). Honestly I was kind of scared it would wreck all my results and be super hard to hit my protein numbers. I have been pleasantly surprised by the results.

The back story. Years ago in high school I was a vegetarian for the all the wrong reasons. I wanted to be skinny and saving animals seemed like a noble cause. I didn't lose any weight but I did eat mostly plant based for five years. I say mostly because I still ate meat on occasion in private but didn't tell anyone. Communities around diets and ways of eating can be very mean if you don't follow the plan exactly and even people who didn't eat how I ate would make comments.

*Side note if you do this to people stop. It isn't cool or nice. Let people eat how and what they want without comment because these comments can be damaging and create food and public eating aversions that can be harmful.*

Back to the story I went back to eating meat in 2011 when I started my journey to lose 40 pounds. I had a solid plan this time instead of just giving up a food group I had calories and macro numbers to hit. I didn't think I could hit my protein goal on a plant based diet and at that point I was over it so it seemed like a good excuse to just stop.

Fast forward to 2019. I made myself sick twice in less than a month from turkey products. I begrudgingly take the blame here because the company swears I undercooked it and it wasn't their brand but I have been eating this brand for years with no problem with how I cook it but whatever. The point is I got sick twice in one month and suddenly the thought of eating meat made me super quesy. So I decided to give the vegetarian thing a  shot again.

I am a little over two weeks into eating plant based and I may never go back. Some things I have noticed:

- I am eating the same amount of calories and protein but my carbs are up 23 grams per day and my fats are down 10

- I believe this is what has caused my muscle to start increasing rapidly and body fat percentage to drop (carbs are your friend)

- My endurance in my workouts has increased. I upped my all out speed and can maintain distances at Orange Theory (HIIT class) much easier than before.

- Meal prep is way quicker and simpler. I can make a meal in less than 15 minutes.

Don't be afraid to try something new. It might take a few tweaks but you may find something awesome in the process.

If you want to know how I am hitting my protein numbers and get a peak at my meal plan send a message to kickittothecarb@gmail.com

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