My God have I had (and still have) an amazing new path unfolding before me and I’m loving it! 🙂

It has been 5 intense weeks of learning and implementing new ways since I changed my diet and became a vegetarian (again) and I also stopped drinking coffee and eating sugar and processed food.

And as the path has unfolded, more and more things has been shown to me and I have started to exercise as well and now I’m even doing Yoga!

Who would have known? Funny how life works 🙂

I have learned a lot about nutrition, food and so on and I have done a lot of adjustments for myself along the way and changed my opinions about certain things as well.

In short; I’m going with the flow of my life and finding my own way as I go.

I’m not a vegetarian nor a vegan and I don’t like calling myself this or that so I’ve found a better and more appropriate way of describing my new eating habits:

My diet now is a whole food plant based diet

Which is not really a “diet” but a lifestyle choice.

In short; I eat real food (no processed foods) and no dairy nor sugar (and very little salt).

I eat as clean as possible and although I can’t afford 100% organic at the moment I’m supporting the farmers by buying at the farmers market rather than the grocery store as much as I can.

A whole food plant based diet is in essence all kinds of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and starchy veggies like potatoes, yams etc, as well as legumes, peas, beans and so on. 

I also eat different kinds of seeds like chia, flax, sunflower and pumpkin seeds plus nuts and almond butter (YUM!).

And I use olive oil (locally made) even if it’s processed because I believe that (extra virgin) olive oil in small amounts is good for you (the Mediterranean diet is one of the best in the world). 

I’m not rigid about eating clean though; I still enjoy a beer or a glass of wine now and then and I’m sure I’ll eat pizza again some day, and if I’m at someones birthday party and they serve cream-cake, I’ll probably eat it.

But I’m not drawn to any of these foods, I don’t even think about them.

My point is that I don’t have any strict “rules” that I live by.  

When I told someone recently that I eat mostly vegetarian food and no dairy they said “oh, so you’re a vegan then” and I had to explain to them that I’m not because being a vegan is more an ethical choice while my food choices has to do with optimal, healthy living (and I still eat fish!).

The choice of not eating dairy is because of ethical reasons first and foremost but as I have learned more and more about food I’ve also come to realize that dairy is actually not good for our health and that the dairy industry has a huge, negative environmental impact on our planet.

It has been a huge eye-opener for me to learn about these things and if there would be a documentary I would recommend anyone to watch it would be this one.

With that said.. 

There’s this thing I have about cheese..

My new eating habits comes from me preferring them so I have not felt deprived of anything and I must say that I have never felt this good before in my entire life.

There has definitely been a huge improvement in my overall well-being even if I felt great already before I started all this. 

That’s my honest truth. I feel absolutely fantastic without coffee, sugar, processed food and dairy and I eat very well and very delicious foods too and now I’m even venturing into making my own bread!

I LOVE Finnish sourdough rye bread so I’m learning to make it myself and it only has three ingredients in it and not the long list of ingredients that the average loaf of bread has that you can buy in the supermarket.

But back to the cheese thing..

Although it has been surprisingly easy to not eat cheese (because I love cheese, especially dessert cheeses), I must say that I have done some research into if there’s a ‘right way’ of making cheese because I kind of would like to keep it in my life as something to enjoy now and then.

But I haven’t found one.

The bottom line is that for cheese to be made the calf can’t have the milk so it’s taken away from its mom so humans can consume it instead, so there really is no cruelty-free way around that unfortunately.

So cheese would be the only thing I “miss” (although I’m not craving it and haven’t craved it since I stopped eating it) so I’m not sure what to do about that. 

I’m sure the path forward will reveal to me other, healthier alternatives as I keep following what feels most right to me.

My energy feels cleaner and more powerful

My taste-buds has come alive, everything taste better, I have more energy (natural energy), I feel more inspired and empowered and stronger in my body. 

And I’m not strictly “following” anything, I have just found my own way (which I’m sure will continue to adjust and tweak itself) and it works for me, I feel amazing. 

Something that I have realized along the way is that I’m not against killing and eating animals for food purposes, I’m just not agreeing on how it’s being done nowadays.

And we don’t need to eat the massive amount of meat that is consumed in the world today, it’s just plain crazy and it’s no wonder people get sick with all kinds of diseases.  

Even kids get diabetes nowadays, something that only older people got not that long ago!

Anyways, to me the meat and dairy industry is like the holocaust all over again but with animals.

There’s no respect or dignity in how animals are raised for food and I can’t take part in that. 

If I would eat meat again, which I probably will occasionally at some point, then I would only eat the meat from an animal that has had only one bad day in their life (=slaughter day).

The animals absolutely must have had a good life where all its needs has been met in the best ways possible.

At this point I honestly don’t know if they can be found anywhere but in some rare places in the USA, but I’m staying open. And wild animals like elk is an option too of course. 

I would also have to actually see the animal first (unless wild) and see for myself under what conditions it lives before I bought any meat at all. 

No “organic” labels can fool me anymore because I know they are lying when it comes to the well-fare of the animals. 

“Organic” also means that when the cow (or any other animal) gets sick (which they do often), they are not treated with antibiotics so they actually suffer even more than the average factory farm animal.

But you can Google about that yourself if you want to learn more about all those types of things.

Moving on, ..

My New Empowering Morning Routine

It’s very simple and very, very enjoyable and empowering.

This is what I do: I wake up naturally, usually between 7-8 am.

First thing I do is that I take my vitamin B12 and iron supplement because they are best to take on an empty stomach.

I grab a bottle of water (75 cl) with me and take the dog out for a walk for about an hour. 

This is my ‘contemplative hour’ where I have not yet been influenced by anything from the outside world.

Meaning, I haven’t checked my phone for messages, social media or anything. I rarely even check what time it is.

I just wake up when I hear the birds starting to sing outside and then I take the dog for a walk in nature, and it’s wonderful, I love it! 🙂

When I get back I have almost drank a whole litre of water (really great way to start the day by flushing the body system) and I’m ready for breakfast.

My breakfast is always the same and has been for years (not that it can be changed, I just like it very much); oatmeal porridge with banana, different kinds of seeds and soy milk. Very simple 🙂

And then I check emails, social media and so on and wait an hour or so after breakfast before I exercise which normally is a 30 minute workout followed by a 30 minute Yoga session.

(No gym, I watch YouTube videos and I use filled water bottles as weights).

After that I take a quick, refreshing cold shower (really good for your muscles) and I’m ready to start the day! 🙂

I find this way of starting the day very empowering, I especially like the contemplative hour because it gives me insights and clarity on the current matters of my life and overall living.

And by not checking my phone first thing in the morning (which I always did before) I have this time all to myself where I tend to my own personal needs and wants in life and listen attentively to what is being communicated within.

My exercise routine will change later this week when my current dog-sitting assignment comes to an end but what I will do instead is that I just go out jogging in the morning instead of dog-walking and then do Yoga either after or before that.

But I will definitely continue beginning my day in this way because of how it makes me feel inside, it’s really life-giving. 

I feel so grateful to Life that I have been guided to all these changes that I have made recently.

So grateful and happy 🙂 

♥♥♥

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