Why I Decided To Become The Latin American Vegan
My Hardships & Struggles
As many of you may know, being a vegan is not for everyone. Some people can't ever possibly see themselves as vegans. The truth of the matter is that I was once one of those same people questioning the whole issue. I used to ask myself, how can anyone, in their right mind, limit themselves to such a restrictive eating diet. Then life hit me, as it does so many of us at some point in time. I was seriously injured, not once but twice in my life. The injuries were so bad on both occasions that I had to have surgery. The first surgery was on my right ankle. After the surgery, it took me about six months of physical therapy to get back to approximately 90% capacity. During the first year, I had gained so much weight that I would ignore looking in the mirror as much as I possibly could. Due to this issue, I decided to get back into running. I should mention that I was an avid runner before my ankle injury. Fortunately, I got back into decent shape. That's me after losing the unbearable weight.
I hope to get back to this physical condition in the near future.
As you can see from my previous post and on this blog, I like the color white. Well, moving right along. With regards to the second surgery, it took me almost a full year to have use of my right shoulder again. I still only have about 65% use of the right arm until this day. Don't get me wrong, I can move my arm just fine back if I use it too much or try to left something too heavy, I suffer from tremendous pain and have to stop whatever I am doing. Needless to say, I can't play golf anymore. Then again, it is probably for the best. I was never any good at golf in the first place. The second surgery took place almost five years ago and since then I haven't been able to partake in my normal exercise activities. This, of course, led me to gain weight once again. However, this time the weight gain was even more drastic than the previous time. In total, I gained an unbelievable 50 pounds (22.7 Kgs). If you don't believe me, take a look at these pictures below and you be the judge.
Health & Realities of Life
Fortunately enough, but not really, I come from a long line of great eaters (foodies). No one can ever deny this fact. Thus, after my second surgery, I continued eating like I always have in the past. You see, I really love to eat. I mean, I really really love to eat! I never really thought about it too much because I was always either running or at the gym. However, since I wasn't able to do too much of either one, because of the pain it would cause my shoulder, presto, I gained a lot of weight. It is no surprise that I started to have high blood pressure. So in many ways, my weight and health were starting to take a toll on me. This led me to start thinking about ways that I could lose weight and, more importantly, become healthier in the process. By the way, I forgot to mention, my father is a vegan and has been for many years, due to high blood pressure. It wasn't by his own choice, initially. He was advised to eliminate all animal products from his diet back in the early to mid 70's. So you see, the concept of plant-based dieting is not new at all. Back to the moral of this blog.
Since I was somewhat familiar with the vegan lifestyle, I started to read health articles by prominent physicians, nutritionists, and dieticians. The information that was being revealed to me was like something I wouldn't have ever imagined prior to my research. The links that were being made between diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, cancers and animal products, just to name a few, were becoming clear to me. In mid-July 2017, last year, I made an easy decision to become a vegan. I say easy because it was concerning my life. Who doesn't want to live a strong healthy life? Everyone does if they have the choice. On another note, the idea of veganism was one concept that was almost entirely unfamiliar in the Middle East, let alone in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Don't get me wrong, a few people may know about the concept, but not too many. It is not a dietary lifestyle that the masses truly understand as a whole or would even consider. Consequently, I have been a vegan now for just over a year. So you can say that I am still a novice in the plant-based world.
Reasons To Never Give Up
I have made many mistakes in my journey as a vegan thus far. For instance, before I was a vegan, I used to love going to sandwich shops and ordering a nice turkey sandwich with plenty of veggies and honey mustard dressing. Then, after becoming a vegan, I thought it was ok to order a veggie patty. I learned later on that most veggie patties do contain eggs and milk in it. However, a sandwich with lots of veggies, on the other hand, is ok when ordered with the right type of bread and dressing. This is merely one example of the growing pains I have experienced in my journey to veganism. I'm telling you all this to say that it is ok to make mistakes. It is not the end of the world. Yes, I know, some people become vegans to save the environment, to protect animals, or for health reasons, like myself. Whatever your reasons may be, you will make mistakes down the line, especially at the beginning of your journey. Despite all of this, you will learn more about what not to eat and why as you gain knowledge and experience.
Well, enough with that. Now that you have an understanding as to why I became a vegan in the first place, we will start to venture into marketplaces, where you can actually buy vegan items and find restaurants, which offer vegan options. A little side note, I promise to provide you with pictures of food items in my next blog. I know you are all probably tired of seeing pictures of me by now, lol. Hence, you will see pictures of food items in my next blog. Until then, remember to be a conscientious eater. We should all become better students of what to eat to live a stronger and healthier life and not simply live just to eat.
Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of my blog so far. Cheers!