Why I went from eating 1kg of meat per day to 1kg of legumes per day!
People particularly in the fitness industry that choose to consume meat as part of their diet can be quick to assume that vegans or vegetarians are at a disadvantage. In fact I was the person labeling ‘those types’ for 10 years when I was consuming on average 1kg of meat a day and pushing my 1RM’s to the limit assuming that if you didn’t eat meat you lacked energy, you were skinny, weak, unhealthy and pale. Now despite my pale complexion, for me, this has nothing to do with nutrient deficiency and today I would like to share my experience with you and why I went from eating 1kg of meat per day to 1kg of legumes.
I decided to investigate plant-based eating just after my son was born in March 2013. Despite the subtle advice on this topic from my wife (who I should mention is an Accredited Sports Dietitian) and prides herself on evidence-based practice, I have to say that the defining moment for me was when a good friend Paul Fogg (who is 110kg, 8% BF and trains body weight only is…you guessed it, a VEGAN) let me borrow a documentary “Forks over Knives”. This seriously made me look deeper at my current diet and what it could be doing to me internally on a cellular level.
Leith and I Paul, Despina, Campbell Fogg
Some might say this transition was made easy by my wife, but until you have that light-bulb moment and accept that this change is your own decision and the reasons for doing so line up with your personal values then you will never stick to it. And as much as respect her work, when I really assessed the reason behind my decision it really didn’t have a lot to do with her influence it was more so my family history that lead my change. Just to clarify, does my wife solely prescribe plant base meal plans? Of course NOT. Her work best suites the individual and the goals they are looking to achieve based on hard data not anecdotal stories and yet here I am telling my story in the hope that I perhaps might inspire you to look beyond a blog and research this for yourself.
Why did I really change?
When I was 10 years old, my father at 44 years of age passed away from bowel cancer. He certainly wasn’t the type of man to give up or leave his family early in life and I’m sure if he knew what I know about the correlation between diet and disease he would have changed his nutrition in an instant.
I remember at the time of his diagnosis 30 years ago, as part of conventional cancer treatment the medical staff put Dad on a ‘special diet’ in the attempt to control the aggressive tumor. This ‘special diet’ was a meat-free, vegan diet! So my family bound together in support of this plant-based eating to help fight this terrible disease.
Let me say for a 10-year-old boy, this was not a very exciting change but I wish at the time I could have taken away the guilt my father felt by imposing this style of eating on the family. Unbeknown to him, this was my blessing in disguise and whilst it was unfortunately too late to have an impact on saving his life, I believe he has saved mine and I am now at peace with knowing his short life carried that message for me.
When I laid eyes on my beautiful little boy for the first time, I realized that when he turns 10, I will be 44 years old. At that point I took complete ownership of my physical wellbeing (beyond what I physically look like) in order to remain on this planet for as long as my spirit allows. I choose to be present in this life form in order to be a positive role model, to offer unpretentious guidance, to provide support for my family and be the best father, husband and health and movement coach to as many people for as long as I can without limitations.
So I propose we stop using labels and harboring judgment, after all we are ALL humans who eat food to survive whatever your choice of diet may be. I just hope that rather than listen to another blogger’s opinion, you take the evidence road and accept that beyond muscles and 1RM’s is your longevity and if that means something to you then I would encourage you to consider the integral role nutrition plays in controlling disease and consider meatless Mondays!
Jason Clark – Co Founder at Perform360