We often think of body language as indicators of someone else’s mood or disposition. Since changing to a plant based diet I am more intune with my personal body language.Sure I can look in the mirror and see a drooping face and rings under my eyes and know I need more sleep. Ah I look like shit I’m going back to bed is a simple solution but what am I missing?
Especially with a dietary change we need to not just focus on the rings under our eyes but every message our body sends us. If I work out strenuously on Monday I expect some muscle soreness on Tuesday. I know what that feels like and expect it to go away. In most cases I can simply do another work out and I can flush out the lactic acid build up (so I’ve been told and experienced firsthand). Sometimes it doesn’t go away, and I need to realize I’ve probably hurt myself. So, I listen to what my body is telling me and skip a workout or two.
Pain is a simple cue to change a behavior, but we often ignore it at least I have. For years I ignored every message my body was sending me. Every morning, I woke up and ran to the coffee maker. I needed something to get me going. Just getting out of bed was an issue. Every bone in my body ached, I couldn’t just sit up and get out of bed, I rolled out. It was an effort I thought could only be saved with coffee.
This pain became normalized, I told myself I’m just getting old the wear and tear from tennis was catching up with me. What I wasn’t doing was listening. My body was screaming at me and I turned a deaf ear on it. Turns out I had a health issue that needed to be treated. I didn’t need a pill although I was taking a pretty fair number of anti-inflammatories to get me beyond the coffee phase of my day.
When I think back it is so very clear, I was loading up almost daily with one NSAID or another to alleviate my pain. Putting 2 and 2 together was impossible for me. I didn’t realize, although I should have, my problems were related to inflammation. DUH! I got through the day with a pill instead of looking for a solution.
Doctors are rarely trained in nutrition and so any trip I made to the doctor’s office netted another round of pills instead of a suggestion for a lifestyle change. I even was given pills to help me not get sicker from the other pills. I had two choices buy stock in big pharma or make a change. My problem was I didn’t know what to do. I only knew I was either in pain or aging quickly.
The game changer was exactly that The Game Changers movie popped up on my Netflix account. I had previously tried to watch documentaries about food and vegan lifestyles but never got their message. It was too doom and gloom or shame casting for what we are doing to the poor animals. The Game Changers was different, it was about athletic performance while maintaining a plant-based diet. I was intrigued and convinced to finally give veganism a try.
I went for it cold turkey, no meat, eggs, or dairy of any kind. I had a semiannual blood test coming up in 6 weeks so I thought I would try until then. After the third week my wife asked if I felt different.
