Body by Vegan
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A friend of mine forwarded me a recent pic of Alicia Silverstone the other day. The subject line was simple: Body by vegan. And yes, it got my attention. Because even though I try to work out two or three times a week, there remains that stubborn five pounds of fat that took hold right around my belly button while I was pregnant with The Barnacle (read: Baby) and never came off. Now I know that I’m active and healthy, and I knock wood daily for that. But there is a vain teenager inside of every woman. And on the day that my friend sent me Alicia Silverstone’s picture, that teen spoke up. I wanted to have a body by vegan. Desperately.
My friend happens to be a vegan, mind you. And she also happens to have a smokin’ bod, which may have less to do with the fact that she doesn’t eat animal products, and more to do with the fact that when you don’t eat animal products there is really very little that you can eat. She’s also 25.
Bitch.
And my raw foodie friends say that this type of diet—which also happens to fall into the vegan category—means that you have more energy throughout the day, because your body isn’t taxed by processing high density foods like meat. In fact, Ani Phyo, raw food chef extraordinaire and author of Ani’s Raw Food Desserts, swears that eating her chocolate ganache cake (which you can now buy boxed) is actually good for your body. Go figure.
There’s also the environmental factor: Livestock produce methane, which is a major greenhouse gas that some experts say contributes more to global warming than cars. “You can’t be an environmentalist and eat meat,” is a PETA-popular phrase.
Here’s what you can eat if you’re a vegan: Vegetables. Fruit. Rice or soy milk. Bread made from weird grains. Fake cheese made from soy. Tofu made from soy. Meat made from soy. And lots and lots of nuts.
Here’s what my family eats: Whole wheat pasta made with eggs, whole wheat pizza made with cheese, bean-and-cheese burritos, grilled fish (wild-caught), chicken and hamburgers (grass-fed and organic), scrambled eggs. Give or take a few vegetables and fruit.
Fight, much? Soy barbecue “ribs” may taste like heaven to me, but to my kids they’re just plain weird.
So my body by vegan has to wait. In the mean time, I’ve gone pescatarian, and cut down my family’s meat and fish consumption. We’re still experimenting with tofu. And eating lots and lots of nuts.
