This summer, my mom's kinda been on my case about my eating, which has been a little annoying but understandable. Mostly, she was just upset that I haven't really been eating meat at all lately. It's been a while since I actually ate a substantial amount of chicken or fish--if it's been part of a meal, I just kind of picked around it. But...this isn't another form of restriction. It's because I really just don't want to eat meat anymore, for ethical and personal reasons. It just grosses me out now.
My mom talked to me a few days ago about this, and I was surprised to hear her say that a vegan diet has been shown to be helpful in eating disorder recovery. She just wants to make sure that I get enough calcium (I'm going to start taking a supplement and I'll still be eating Greek yogurt--so not fully vegan) and fats. Eating enough fat has been really hard for me during my ED and now in recovery, but now I'm going to be more committed to eating enough healthy fats.
So basically, I'm going mostly vegan. I will still have some dairy occasionally, but most of it doesn't appeal to me, besides my beloved Greek yogurt and gelato. I'm going to focus on high-quality plant proteins, such as beans, quinoa and tempeh (all things I love, BTW) and also on fats, like nuts, almond butter and avocado. This is NOT another way for me to fall back on ED, though. Eating vegetarian or mostly vegan really does make me feel my healthiest and happiest and I think eating this way could help me on the road to recovery. I will NOT allow myself to fall back into the "low fat" and "low calorie" trap again. I want to sustain this lifestyle so I can be as healthy as possible. I won't use this new way of eating disguise my anorexia or orthorexia. I really believe that this will be a challenge to me--I may have to go out of my comfort zone and try something new and "scary". But it's a challenge I'm more than willing to try!
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| One of my fave new veg finds is the Whole Foods hot/cold bars--I love the curried tofu quinoa salad and the maple roasted sweet potatoes! |
Just a note, I'm not trying to advocate that this is a perfect lifestyle for everyone. Every person has different needs and preferences and this is just what works for me best.
What changes have you made to your eating habits that have helped you in your recovery?
The Whole Foods looks super yummy :). I wish we had one of those here but we don't :(.
ReplyDeleteI'm a vegetarian but I do eat seafood every once in awhile (but 95% of the time I would most likely choose the vegetarian option even over seafood). It works well with my body, and even when I ate meat, I only ate it maybe a few times a week, not every day, so it wasn't a super hard change to make. I don't think of it as a way to disguise an ED at all, I was vegetarian long before ED started rearing its ugly head, and there are people with ED who eat meat and vegetarians who obviously don't have ED (even vegetarians who eat kraft mac and cheese and french fries and nothing else!).
Oh and Greek yogurt is awesome! I prefer Chobani!
A.L.
Hey girl,
ReplyDeleteHave you reda these posts on Gena's blog?
http://www.choosingraw.com/green-recovery-series/
Good shtuff.
I think it is important to remember that if you want - you can always eat whatever your body wants. It may be a rocky road when you commit to rigid food plans (I have experienced this) so if in a month or so you want a piece of cheese or you feel like you need animal protein don't beat yourself up, you know?