Huh people :s

Hello,

It takes a lot to get under my skin. I consider myself pretty calm and I do not get rattled by non-work related issues. I feel like I am back in kindergarten kids poking and laughing. I assume I am getting the norm treatment, people are being condescending, making meat jokes, saying I am making a bad choice (haha seriously?) and just other rude comments. Like I said before I am very new to this new lifestyle and I don't know all the scientific facts behind this plant based whole food lifestyle. There is so many aspects of why people go vegan, it could be healthy choices, environmental, ethical, compassionate, could be many reasons. For me the first issue for me was environmental I couldn't believe the devastation the meat industry was doing to the rain forest (Amazon) and the dead zones in the sea. It was just eye opening for me on an environmental aspect. I am getting heckled from friends, co-workers, and strangers for my wife's and I new purchase. We did purchase a new SUV. I know not the best for the environment but it is a lot better fuel economy and emissions friendly then our last car. We needed the additional space for our pups and our travelling. We also take the bus to work so that's a plus. On another point a person posted a link to a documentary called Earthlings ( https://youtu.be/PB_ZMiYy_OQ). I am not a super emotional person but I did not have a dry eye during this feature. It is very graphic and really eye opener. I do not recommend it for everyone but I do believe everyone should see it (if that makes sense). 

On a happy note I ran for the first time in 6 weeks boom!!! For those who don't know I tripped and tore the ligaments and fractured my ankle. I was super nervous but it went well. I ran on the treadmill I do not trust snappy the ankle on trails yet. I ran 5km in 24min on a 3% incline didn’t feel so bad. I was sucking wind and sweating buckets, I think this was due to just getting over a cold the last 3 days. Speaking of cold. People asked me if my switching to vegan caused my onset of cold symptoms. This is one topic I am not up to par with. I don't know if switching to vegan made me sick. I remember when I quit smoking I became very ill with pneumonia had to see the doctor and he told me it is the way my body is trying to get rid of the toxins. Maybe my body is doing the same thing since I cleaned up my eating habits. Honestly I don't know remember I do take the germ filled cesspool called OC TRANSPO to work.

To be honest I am happy. I know I am making great choices and saving my body. My wife and I are connecting on a whole new level (me enjoying her cooking most of all). Besides the cold/flu I had I am feeling great. I am reading a book called "Meat Is for Pussies" A How-To Guide for Dudes Who Want to Get Fit, Kick Ass, and Take Names. I will relate to this book next post. It has been a really helpful tool in my transition into a plant based whole food lifestyle.

Once again thank you for taking the time to read I really appreciate it.

Fact: Livestock is responsible for 65% nitrous oxide emissions 

Corey

Week 1: Complete

Hello,

First off sorry I got lazy, but forgive me it’s the weekend. I had a great weekend filled with fun and love. Last week I was working evenings so I didn't see my wife at all last week, so you understand why I was begging for the weekend. 

Got off work Friday went straight home, and to celebrate the weekend I opened a beer. If you know me you know I love my craft beer. I opened a beer called "Hand & Seal" from Brooklyn brewery (USA). It was a solid Barley-wine aged in bourbon barrels 13.3%. To my surprise I woke up lightly hung-over which I am usually not after one beer. I did decide no more drinking during the week and plus the new vegan lifestyle, I think the beers have caught up with me. I do believe the slight alcohol affected my system harder than usual; its fun to see how the body changes and adapts, don't get me wrong the headache was not fun. 

Saturday was a great day, seeing my wife an all we had lots of fun laughing and playing with the pups. She told me how proud she was for me changing my lifestyle and all. Saturday night we made dinner reservations at a vegetarian/vegan restaurant called Cafe My House in Ottawa, Canada. To be honest I was a little nervous. I love my wife's cooking but I knew this would be different. This would be my first attempt as a vegan at a restaurant. Laura and I ordered popcorn/kale chips which were amazing we also ordered broccoli tempura with spicy Korean BBQ sauce which was the winner over the Apps. For my entree I ordered fennel sausage in an onion broth. To my surprise I had to ask what this sausage was made of, seriously I thought it was meat. It was made of red kidney beans and spices, oh so good. My wife also enjoyed her mushroom scallop dish. I highly recommend this restaurant.  I cannot wait to try more vegan restaurants.

Sunday is GAME DAY!!! I wanted to take the stress of my wife for dinner so we made a simple pizza. I used my homemade BBQ sauce; we also used onions, tempeh, tofu, pineapple, broccoli, kale, and some vegan cheese my wife bought. It actually turned out great. I am super proud of my first homemade meal without meat. I am excited to see what I come up with next, something more challenging I hope. I want my wife to be proud of the meals I put in front of her, at least match her at her own level of expertise ;)  and Seahawks won so I am happy.

Since switching my daily nutrition intake I am itching to run. For those who don't know I ran Eastern States 100 miler couple weeks back, hardest thing I have ever done. I was quite happy finished 7th male, 2nd in my age group, with 3 rattle snake encounters which freaked me out enormously. Two weeks after my race I torn ligament/tenants in my ankle. I did this by running across the street trying to catch the light, I know IDIOT. I know quite embarrassing my wife laughs and tells me "you can run 100 miles, but can’t cross the street". Since then I changed my food intake and I am itching to get back to running. I believe I will do great things in 2016 by my standards of course I not going to break any records or anything like that. I am hungry to push myself and I have personal goals I want to obtain. I have never eaten this proper before and I know I will make huge gains in my running. 

I am still proud of my new choice in life, even though some people are scared of it. HAHAHA let me explain I was on the phone with my parents, they invited us over but then got nervous saying they don't know what to feed us. I know they mean well I have my parent’s support 100% and soon they will understand why I chose this path. 

Once again I couldn't do this without my wife, and this is my shout out to her....I LOVE YOU BABE!! She has actually gone to bed, yes we are early birds. Since she has gone to bed please do not be a grammar Nazi she’s my editor and proof reader ;)

My question for this post is, what do you prefer as a meat substitute tempeh, tofu, and or seitan? Are there nutrient benefits for each for each?

Fact: The meat and dairy industry use 1/3 of the earth's fresh water

Thank you,

Corey

Day 2: temptations & Labels

Hello,

Day 2 I realized this might be a little harder than I thought. It is not so much the big things and when I say big things I mean Meat, poultry, and fish and I have not had any temptations to eat meat which I am quite surprised about. It's the little things that I didn't realize I would have to cut out while making this transition in vegan-ism. For example I like honey in my morning coffee and due to routine and morning grogginess I grabbed the honey out of the cupboard for my coffee. Soon as I flipped the cap it dawned on me that I was making a boo-boo. I placed the honey back in the cupboard and loaded my coffee with a little extra almond milk. I believe honey will not be a huge issue, I just realize that I am going to need to pay a lot more attention on my dietary input. I know some vegans use honey and consider themselves Bee-gan but like I said in my initial post that this is an experiment and I am going full hog ;) can vegans make meat jokes or is it taboo?

When I am home I have no temptations. It's not like I am craving or even dreaming about meat. It’s the temptations that I didn't realize I was giving up. When I arrived at work my colleagues bring in treats such as cookies, chocolate, and candies. Once I saw the cookies I knew this would be a battle of will power. Every Time I walked by that smorgasbord of treats I repeat to myself "I don't want it and I definitely don’t need it" it's not like I am saying it out loud, people already think crazy for running 100 mile races and switching to plant based whole food diet so I keep that mantra to myself. For these temptations I know I don't need them but like meat was for me it's an addiction and I know just like the time I quit smoking, the first 3 weeks will suck but I will come out healthier person and undeniably stronger willed.  

 

I picked up a new hobby and it’s called reading labels. I say this because I know my wife will not always be there for me holding my hand in the grocery store telling me “this item is fine”,  or “this is not". I have to educate myself, so I gave myself a mission to become more familiarized with the ingredients I am putting into my body. This will not be a simple task because like most people some ingredients I cannot pronounce and I lack knowledge of what they actually are. Is there a website I can look at to familiarize myself with the sneaky terminology that will help me stay vegan. I know from a basic standpoint on what not to ingest but some ingredients like Gelatin I never knew what it was until I googled it. Do most vegans put in the work and become google masters? 

I am very appreciated of all the feedback I am getting, thank you!

Fact: A plant based diet cuts your carbon foot print by 50%

Corey Paquette

Day 1: Motivation

Hello,

Day 1 in the bag. It was full of mixed feelings and questions.

I should start with a quick description of myself. My name is Corey and I'm 26 years old. I am an ultra runner running any distance up to 100 miles. I was previously on the national judo team and considered myself pretty athletic. When I was young, and right up till I met my wife I was the pickiest eater, eating nothing but meat and processed foods. When I say I ate nothing but meat: I mean it.  As far as vegetables went I only ate potatoes and corn (are these even vegetables?). This all changed when I met my wife Laura. By now you should be able to tell I really liked her and wanted to see her frequently. She invited me over for dinner and made Stuffed Chicken (stuffed with broccoli/cheese) with asparagus and Brussels sprouts. I was so nervous but it was actually pretty darn good. I changed from eating 99%meat and processed foods to a good 60/40 ratio (60 being the meat portion). My wife decided to go vegetarian 6 months ago, and has vowed to help me by going 100% vegan too. Like I mentioned before I would not be able to do this without her. Love you babe!

When I arrived at work yesterday all my colleagues knew what I had decided, and made fun of me (not all, but some). I choose not to get into conflicts or debates with people because I really do not like to argue and honestly I just turned vegan 24 hours ago. I'm still new to this whole different lifestyle and have questions for myself. It is a lifestyle that I have yet to read more into, such as the facts of the meat/diary industry on our environment. A lot of people were not judgmental but curious on why the sudden change which was simple and understanding. There was one line that stuck with me yesterday that was said by numerous people and that was "I need meat". I understand what they mean, hell I purchased a smoker 3 weeks ago and I swear I used it every chance I got, definitely getting my monies worth. Now in the last day or two I truly learned it’s not a need but a serious want, hell it’s an addiction. I thought I needed meat in every meal. I would watch my wife make a vegetarian/vegan (delicious) meal and when she was done I would cook up some bacon just to add with the dish. Mentally I didn’t believe I could eat a dish without some source of meat on the plate, I have now learned that I can do it Meat Free!!! Even before I made the change I knew about the nutrition of a plant-based diet giving the body enough nutrients and proteins so our bodies can strive. I was still shocked to hear some people’s excuses saying that meat is the only source of protein besides protein shakes. I cannot get upset I recently watched a piece on Jamie Oliver while giving a talk on TED explaining how we as a nation are un-educated with food, and I couldn’t agree with him more. Hell, I don’t even know anything about food/nutrition. I am glad I have a super understanding wife since I am now overloading her with questions.

 

Facebook has been so powerful for me the last 24hours. I didn’t think I would get a response from anyone, I was just doing this so I could put my own thoughts down and reflect on them during tough days and to track my progress. I am over whelmed and simply in AWE with the support from friends and strangers. People sending me their wishes which is giving me so much confidence in this mission to better myself and the choices I make. I am 100% devoted to this and I know I will succeed. Thank you everyone.

 

I think I should add some sort or daily dilemma to everyone of my post.

So here is dilemma #1.

Every morning I make a smoothie. I love to load it up with kale, spinach, parsley, berries, banana, chia seeds, spurilina, and udo's oil. I would also add Shakeology (strawberry) and little orange juice with almond milk. Since the transition into being vegan my wife purchased Vega (chocolate) and I took out the orange juice. The smoothie is still manageable to get down but not enjoyable. Would I see a difference if I would get a berry version instead of the chocolate one? Is there any vegan supplement chalked full of vitamins and nutrients that might make my shake once again delicious? Any information would help.

Thank you everyone,

Fact: Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction

The Experiment

Hello,

To start things off, I recently watched the documentary COWSPIRACY on Netflix. It was unlike any other documentary I have ever seen. I have watched countless documentaries on healthy Living, eating and alternative options for daily meat consumption (Food Matters, Forks over knives, and hungry for change). 



In the previous months my beautiful wife Laura has switched to a vegetarian life style due to mostly her love for animals. She tried to get me to make more healthy choices in my eating habits. I went along with her eating slightly cleaner meals and trying to go full days without meat, but that only happened on rare occasions.

Back on point, I am writing about this for my own personal data base to keep me accountable through my journey of being a vegan. I will talk about myself and other facts that I learned about going on a plant based whole food diet. Just to warn you I have no experience with blogging and to be honest I am slightly nervous for this whole ordeal. I will write about my daily experiences with a plant based whole food diet and how it affects me as a husband, runner, and as a person. 

For this challenge I am giving myself some goals, some may be more attainable than others but what the heck go big or go home.


Goals:

1. Lose weight, I am curious to see how a plant based whole food diet will affect me on the scale (starting weight 175lbs)
2. Improvement with my running/ physical activity (faster times, recovery)
3. Do my part to help the environment (watch COWSPIRACY to understand the impact of the meat/diary/agriculture  industry on the environment)
4. Learn to cook 10 different vegan recipes, to help take the strain off my wife, because lets be honest I'm no pro in the kitchen.
5. write daily about my experience with vegan-ism and how I am coping.
6. I would like to say this was a 30 day challenge but to be honest if I want to hit goal #2 Ill have to go vegan till my next race which will most likely be the Ottawa Marathon which will be in May of 2016

Fingers crossed, but luckily for me I have a supporting wife that is great in the kitchen and is going to go full on vegan with me. It will be nice to have a partner in this experiment and to motivate each other and to stay on track. 

See you tomorrow,

Corey

Fact: Animal Agriculture is responsible for 91% of Amazon destruction!!!!