About a month ago, a good friend of mine told about a documentary called The Game Changers. I hadn’t had seen it yet, but as a health-documentary junkie, I watched it as soon it became available on Netflix. To those who are not familiar: this movie promotes a plant-based diet and talks about how professional athletes can benefit from it. E.g. the fact that we need to eat animal products such as eggs, meat, fish, dairy to get protein is a myth as there are a lot of plant-based protein sources out there aside from these, like tofu, lentils, chickpeas, broccoli, for example. What really caught my attention though was the fact that the vegan diet is anti-inflammatory. It wasn’t big news for me, but I absolutely needed to hear that as a reminder in this specific moment.
My knee had been inflamed for almost 9 months ever since I broke it and it swelled up even more after my second surgery that took place at the beginning of October. The swelling simply didn’t go down and it started to slow down my recovery process. As I was desperate to get my movement back, I was ready to try anything. After watching The Game Changers, I was fully motivated and couldn’t wait to try out veganism. When I discussed my plan to my physiotherapist, she confirmed that she also advises people to give up meat after surgeries in order to accelerate the healing process!! Hello, why didn’t anyone tell me this after my first surgery?? In addition, I came across with Medical Medium who swears on drinking celery juice on an empty stomach in the morning (there are countless benefits including anti-inflammatory effects), so I also ordered a juicer and tried out drinking celery juice for a week. Basically, every piece of info I happened to come across just confirmed I should go vegan. (I am also well aware about the fact that vegan lifestyle prevents animal slaughter and suffering as well as about its benefits for our environment, but in this post I am focusing on health.)
Despite my concerns, such as “Will I starve? or “Will I have enough energy (as I have low iron levels already)?”and better yet, “What will I actually get to eat?” I started off with an “All In!” mentality. But that wasn’t a great idea because I ended up making my first vegan week much harder that it should have been. Namely, in addition to going vegan, I also added a freshly squeezed celery juice to my diet plus I tried to cut out unprocessed foods and sugar. My enthusiasm lasted for about a week before I gave up and started eating also processed vegan foods such as pre-made vegan burgers, vegan yoghurts, vegan chocolate, canned chickpeas, etc. My energy levels were restored and the next three weeks I felt like myself again. Basically I broke one of the main goal setting rules here: make it realistic! 🙂
Today, the month is over and I’m not missing eating any animal products, however, in order to make it sustainable for myself, I have decided to allow myself to eat up to two times a week animal products (fish, meat, cheese, etc.).
And the swelling? It went down (though not completely) within the first week. Not sure if it was giving up meat or that the celery juice did the trick, but something definitely worked.
Check out some very interesting facts I’ve collected for y’all! Enjoy and stay tuned for the next post!
Outcome of the challenge – FACTS
- I was never hungry during this experiment and I ate the same amount of the meals as normally.
- I craved for a burger probably twice during this month, but overall I was surprised how I didn’t feel the need to eat any meat or fish, or even cheese that is usually my favorite. For my sugar cravings, I found a perfect vegan chocolate.
- I didn’t lose or gain any weight.
- At the beginning, I felt less energetic than normally, which I don’t consider as anything negative. I felt like my adrenaline levels have gone down and I have finally peace in mind. Once I started eating processed foods and sugar again, my energy level naturally restored.
- Inflammation around my knee went down about 70%.
- I was less bloated and overall it seemed that my digestive parts are thankful.
- Juicing. It is a huge hassle and it is pricey. I decided that since I already invested to the juicer, I will repeat celery juicing in the future for another week or so, however, I could never do it 365 days a year.
Favorite Foods, Products and Restaurants (Since I live in Germany, you may not find the exact same products in your country)
- Detox lentil soup (also ideal for meal prep), recipe here
- Split pea soup, recipe here
- Vegan Fried Rice, recipe 1 and recipe 2
- Different salad variations with greens, quinoa, beans, chickpeas, veggies, olives
- Roasted veggies
- Veggie burger (favorite pre-made, favorite homemade)
- Gluten free pasta with vegan pesto (love that pesto here)
- Almond milk (homemade), recipe here – super easy to make!
- Overnight oats with almond milk or soy yoghurt (love vanilla!)
- Favorite vegan chocolate
- Favorite vegan restaurant in Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Vevay Frankfurt
- I also want to mention Hans im Glück that is a casual burger restaurant chain here in Germany, however, they also have a great selection of vegan and vegetarian burgers
Light and love,
Liis