My Journey to Becoming WFPB #1
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I used to be a junk food addict, and I would not even pace myself. I used to believe that since I did not gain weight easily, it was ok for me to eat that way.
I was raised with the mentality that you can treat yourself to something unhealthy once in a while as long as you burn the calories that you indulged in… but how far from the truth was I?
The truth is, a calorie is not just a calorie.(1) Food is not just energy; otherwise 700 calories of broccoli would leave you feeling the same way as a Big Mac. There is a reason why it is not the case and feeling sick after eating something awful for you is a normal reaction from your body and you should listen to it. Cross country skiing for 30 miles the day after such an indulgence might keep you from becoming fat on the outside, but is it really what counts? Isn’t your overall health more important? Shouldn’t we care that we are hurting and changing our gut micro-biomes and making it toxic? Shouldn’t we be aware that our endocrine system is crying for help for hours on end after eating a bad meal and shouldn’t we care that we most definitely are feeding cancer cells in our body when doing so?(2)
The saddest part is most people do not know these facts, and indeed, at first glance, it seems fair to believe that if someone looks healthy they are.
This is what led me to pursue the ecornell nutrition studies program and this is what led me to creating this blog. I simply cannot bear that so many are making themselves sick out there without even being aware of it. I would love to inspire people to embark on the same journey as I have.
I would love for you to fall in love with all the wonderful science and nutritional knowledge that is out there as much as I have. Once you start, it is a whole new world that unveils before your eyes and I find it is quite hard not to constantly want for more.
As you learn new information, you will most likely want to share it with your loved ones and your surroundings, by enthusiasm or by concern for their health.
But I want to be honest; sometimes it’s hard not to fall back into bad habits. It takes motivation and courage to say no to the temptations that are everywhere in today’s society. The hardest part for me is when I have to say no to some social gatherings because there would simply not be a way for me to eat well there, or bringing my lunch but having to deal with judgmental glares and people thinking I’m just being fussy and capricious. It honestly hurts me deeply when that happens because food for me always has had a social aspect to it. It’s a way to bond with people, to share experiences and feeling left out of such things really takes a toll in the long run.
It gets better though. It takes one genuinely curious person in a room to ask you the right questions in front of others for a part of them to start gathering around and becoming interested. Then, if you play your cards right, you can plant seeds that way and eventually gain their respect.
But I can tell you from experience that it is important to be careful not to talk too much without being asked to or not to impose your « opinions » on others. I use quotation marks here because keep in mind that sadly most of the people you are talking to will think that this is all it is: OPINIONS. And you will hear « agree to disagree » or « everyone is entitled to their own opinion » when the conversation starts to fire up.
That is not because people consciously do not want to believe you, but keep in mind that you are unwillingly pointing out so many of their mistakes at once and for some, their first reaction will not be to re-evaluate their behaviour, but to feel attacked. It is sad, terribly sad might I say, but it is the truth. Learning to deal with that is an art… that I have not perfected yet.
As to my own experience to becoming WFPB, I can guarantee that if you stick with it long enough, you will develop a taste for it. I used to looove salt and fat, but by slowly taking it out of my food I developed different tastes. I now HATE the taste of oil and can feel it automatically when food is cooked in it.
Fun fact, I used to binge on chips, like I would eat a WHOLE BAG by myself and feel good about it. Well I felt gross, but I didn’t mind that feeling at the time since I just thought it was normal. A while ago, I was craving chips and ate a reasonable amount, but immediately felt so gross and realised I did not even enjoy eating them. To my surprise, my taste buds had evolved and I now found chips disgusting. Great! From now on, I thought, it’ll make it easy to avoid them ;)!
As for salt, it takes a little experimenting in the kitchen, but you can definitely develop combinations of spices that will compensate for the lack of it.
Feel free to write me an e-mail with any questions and I will try and answer them it a later post :).
In the meantime, I wish you all the joy and happiness in the world.
Marie-Chose
References:
All references are linked in text, with the exception of:
(1)Faclm, G. M. M. (2019). How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss (1st ed.). Flatiron Books.
(2)Faclm, G. M. M., & Stone, G. (2015). How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease (1st ed.). Flatiron Books.