CHOOSING INSPIRATION INSTEAD OF PERFECTION

I used to have a really bad relationship with food, as a child and then as a teenager. Until the 2nd year of university I never questioned my food choices and especially never realized that perhaps I was eating too much, or too often, or maybe at the wrong hours, too spicy or too salty or even to fatty, etc. It simply didn’t cross my mind that my way of interacting with food was so far from what is naturally intended for us humans.

When I was a little girl I was very much in love with my dad and… fried potatoes. Believe it or not, I was obsessed with potatoes, in any way or form, but especially fried. Nothing compared with them. When I was 2 years old, my grandma bought a lot of potatoes for winter and she deposited them on the balcony; when I saw them I started crying with joy and I gave the potatoes a big, big hug, on the floor! All my relatives knew that I had a crush for potatoes.

If you gave me a plate full of potatoes I considered that you really, really loved me.

Also I was eating like everybody in my family; a lot of: meat, dairy, bread, cheese, sweets, milk; very little: fruit, nuts and water and yes: no vegetables at all. I was very fortunate because when I was little we didn’t have a lot of overly processed foods in stores and all the food that we ate was made with love, at home, by my parents or by my grandmothers. The quantities of food were big, sometimes huge, but this is how all my family members ate. We had just 1 meal/day, in the evening and sometimes we had lunch, but mostly not. I was very connected to my food. Frankly… we didn’t know better!!! We thought that this was normal, everybody did! And I LOVED it! I didn’t knew better, neither my parents.

Although I loved the taste of my food I always felt guilty when eating meat and didn’t realize how come “the animals are here, on Earth, just for our nourishment”. This never sounded normal to me, but I accepted it, because everyone else did!

Today, the majority of people are in the same situation as I was; not knowing that what they eat directly affects their health, their way of thinking, the environment, the planet, the animals, and the air we all breed. And it’s ok! They are not guilty, they simply don’t know better and I can assure you that if they knew better they would change a lot of their eating habits. But as you know the mass-media doesn’t provide real information about food.

So let’s stop blaming others, let’s stop lecturing them all day long for not willing to follow our beliefs, stop feeling superior just because you are vegetarian or vegan, because you know what? You are not!

Better, start being an example, thrive, get healthy, if you are asked something about your lifestyle, offer explanations with kindness and compassion, motivate your choices and expect nothing, transform yourself into a better you, everyday, provide useful information to others and guide them to read books and documentaries that prove scientifically that humans are a plant based species and then, again, expect nothing! And you know what????

People will be curious to know how come you improved your looks, how come you became more healthy, how come you love your food, how come you can eat until you are satisfied and not gain weight, how come you sleep better, how come you contribute actively to the decrease of global warming, how come you are more chill, how come you suddenly love to workout, how come your skin looks better, how come you have more patience with others and so on and so forth.

From my experience, people tend to be inspired by examples and not by lectures, by proofs and not by words. So be that proof that so many people desperately wish to encounter, that proof that brings light to the world. Be that fucking healthy, thriving, happy, good looking proof! And when you get there…Congrats! You just made Earth, a better place.

Until then, you are still doing a great job; chill out and accept that you are learning and with every step that you take further on the plant based lifestyle you contribute immensely to your own health, Earth’s health and animal’s safety. Don’t be disappointed for not succeeding to follow this lifestyle 24/7. For some people it is not that easy to switch all your beliefs right away and this is understandable, someday you will, if you truly wish and understand the arguments and especially, if you see the proofs.

For example, it took me 1 year to quit meat for good and I still have issues with dairy, believe it or not. I am far away from perfect, BUT, I do my best and I am sure that I will succeed long term. I am very passionate about this subject and I wish to inspire others to become healthier and happier.
If you are also passionate about this subject, very good! Start building activities to increase the awareness regarding the plant based lifestyle, and your work will be much appreciated, but don’t force your idea to somebody else. This would be a big mistake.

We must reconnect with food again and when I mean food I mean real food: fruits, legumes, starches, nuts, seeds, vegetables. We must learn to love these foods and to make such combinations or dishes that make us want to eat this food forever, like me and my awesome fried potatoes (this is not such a healthy example). We can only do this by experimenting and by seeing with our own eyes how good we feel when we eat what we were intended to eat in the first place. So let’s experiment with plant based foods and see what happens.

….I’m sure that we will all be very surprised 🙂