In my mind, I'm standing on a diving board. I have spent the last month or so researching Veganism and what it takes to do it....reading books, blogs, picking the minds of everyone who works at Whole Foods, etc. I' ve always wanted to go Vegan; I have five rescued animals and abhor cruelty towards them, plus it's supposed to be very good for you.
I even tried a few times before, but failed. I didn't know how to cook and ended up eating mostly convenience and junk foods, and it wasn't long before I felt terrible. But this time will be different; this time I am informed. Also, after 10 years of living in the suburbs of Washington, DC with fast food on every corner ( which I have become horribly addicted to), we moved a few months ago to a 3 1/2 acre property in the Blue Ridge Mountains. There is no fast food here.....heck, it takes me 1/2 hour just to get to ANY grocery store. The place I will be working has no available take-out anywhere near it. I have removed a lot of the convenient temptations.
The point of this blog is to track and share my progress. I'll be trying recipes, recording how I feel, sharing thoughts as I explore the Vegan community. I'm kind of scared. I just turned 40 and my whole life I have been a a fast-food burger eating, giant portion scarfing, non-cooking entity
who blocked out the effect what was on my plate did to other creatures and the environment. I'm going to have to learn new skills, meet new people, and try new things. It sounds good in theory, but I am used to being an overweight woman of a certain energy level who does most of her socializing in restaurants. Comfort food has made me......well, comfortable on some level. What if I lose weight? What if I don't? What if I have trouble connecting with friends if there isn't a shared appetizer on the table? What if I learn so much and feel so strongly about it at I become vocal and make others uncomfortable? What if began Vegan if freaking awesome and I have spent all these years doing it wrong? What if my meat eating husband starts to silently resent kale?
This sounds silly, but it's also true. The plan is to use up all the non-vegan food my husband doesn't like by September 1 and then go Vegan. I am 210 pounds at 5' 4".........so waaaay overweight.
Diabetes runs in my family, as do knee problems from carrying too much weight. I want to change my odds, have more energy, and make good choices for the creatures around me. I hope this change puts me on the road to a better life for me and those around me. So.......I guess it's time to jump!
We are very good in Western Society at believing there is always tomorrow and so we can start then to be healthier, kinder, etc. We're also good at being so far removed from our sources of food and clothing that we can actually advertise bar-be-que with a smiling cartoon pig and not make the connection that bar-be-que IS THE PIG. I have let myself be fooled by my own desires for a feeling of fullness and convenience for a very long time.
God, I hope that Vegan water is warm under this diving board!
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