I read this book from start to finish while flying to
Alaska. Scott Jurek previously came out with
Born to Run, and then came out with Eat and Run – both books are awesome
reads, and not just for the running community.
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Jurek grew up hunting and basically eating a meat and potato
diet – few vegetables, lots of meat, lots of dairy. He wasn’t that active when he was younger,
but started becoming more active when he was in high school by joining the ski
team, and then started running. He loved
running – started to get strong, started running more and more.
He began to tweak his diet by eating more vegetables, and slowly
started cutting back on meat and other animal products. He was shocked by how much better he felt – he
assumed he needed meat, needed animal protein, to be a strong and fast distance
runner. He was wrong – he found energy
and strength from holding a more plant-based diet. Over time, he found his way to veganism.
Jurek isn’t just a distance runner, he’s an ultra-marathoner. And not only is he an ultra-marathoner, he wins them, he sets records. He’s run dozens of ultras, and runs at least 100 miles a week. He’s fast, he’s strong.
Before finding my way to veganism, I ate healthy and clean. I ate a largely plant-based diet, but was eating meat and dairy on a regular basis. Last year I slowly cut out animal products, and have had a Vegan diet since the end of September – never felt better. I felt great before, and had no idea there was that much room to feel better than I did before. I have more energy. I’m sleeping better. My blood levels and vitals were stellar before, and now they’re even more so. Without offering too much information, I’ll just say my digestive system has never been more on point. I’m lighter, I’m leaner, I’m tighter, I’m stronger, I’m getting faster. The effects are astounding.
I get so many questions from people about my veganism – aren’t
you hungry all the time? But what do you
eat? How do you live without bacon? Aren’t you lethargic all the time? But how do you get your protein? I’m hungry a lot, yes – but no more so than
before. Running 30 to 50 miles a week
will make you hungry. I actually stay
full longer because I’m eating five times a day instead of three (as advised by
my nutritionist). And my plant-based
meals keep me full. And I eat lots of
stuff! I luckily grew up with a mom who
cooked lots of different kinds of food for us, and made sure we acquired a
taste for grains, veggies, and fruit. So,
I eat lots of food, all different kinds.
How do I live without bacon? Well,
that was actually one of the first meats I cut out. I was never a big ham and bacon person, and
once I discovered pigs are as intelligent as dogs, I threw that out the window
without looking back. And I’m not
lethargic all the time – in fact I’ve never had so much energy. And I get my protein from lots of
places. There are so many plants and
grains and legumes that are packed with protein that I think a lot of people
don’t realize. I have my struggles, sure
– but when I’m tempted, or feel myself craving milk chocolate, I think of the
reasons I became a vegan and the craving subsides.
People find their way to Veganism for different reasons – my
reasons are ethical and environmental, and the health benefits are a
bonus. Jurek became a vegan for the
sheer health benefits and how it affected his performance as an athlete – the ethical
and environmental reasons came a bit later, but he is still largely a vegan
because of the health benefits.
Last week I posted an interesting article on my Facebook
page about the rise of Veganism – check it out below:
There has been a significant spike in the popularity of
holding a plant-based diet as people discover the multitude of benefits is
holds – it is an easy way to affect your life, the world, and the lives of
animals. The US population of vegans has
more than doubled in the last three years.
The percentage of meat consumed by Americans is falling – we consumed
over 12% less meat in 2012 that we did five years prior. Wow! Those
are some awesome stats! Other than the
benefits for animals and the environment, think of the health benefits if we
continued to raise this awareness! Our children
would be more educated and healthy. We
would be healthier for future generations.
Fast food chains would be less. As
the demand for fresh produce would grow, we would see the rise of more private
and organic farms. I’m not trying to
force my agenda on someone, and not trying to be some militant vegan – but I would
like to be a part of the movement of educating others on the benefits of eating
a more plant-based diet. I’m not even
saying to become a Vegan. Just cutting
out meat of a few meals a week make a huge difference – to your health, to the
environment, and to the lives of animals.
This article also suggests documentaries cover
mostly the health benefits of a more plant-based diet. If you want to Netflix
some of the movies, I recommend Vegucated,
Forks over Knives (also a good book
that my dad actually wanted for Christmas), and Supersize Me. Vegucated is
quite entertaining - challenges big meat-eaters to maintain a vegan diet for
several weeks, and highlights some of the realistic challenges we face. Forks over Knives covers the benefits of
eating more of a plant-based diet. And Supersize
Me (went totally viral) follows a guy who eats only McDonalds for 30 days,
every meal, every drink, and covers the decline in health he faced over this
period of time. There are a few others
that have some grotesque footage and images of animals at slaughterhouses if
you’re interested in those, which I do encourage others to watch – but forewarning,
they are graphic and extremely hard to watch.
In fact, over 42% of vegans became vegan after watching a video like
these they are so powerful. Ignorance can
be bliss.
Eat and Run is a great book, article is
a good and quick read, and the documentaries listed are enlightening and
eye-opening.
That is all for now, Zoe signing off.
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