Hi!
I want to start posting
more blogs about fertility-based resources. I plan to post one later today or
tomorrow about a fertility-friendly diet, but first I wanted to lay the
groundwork about my diet choices and the events that led me to them.
Some backstory about me is
that about 5 years ago, after experiencing some horrific stomach cramping and
taking a trip to the ER I was preliminarily diagnosed with Cohn’s disease.
Cohn’s is a chronic disease that affects the digestive system, particularly the
intestine.
Now here is where everyone
will think I’m Cray; I never followed up with a specialist. Why? Because I
didn't feel like it was ever necessary. Ever since that hospital visit I have
kept a strict eye on my diet and have only ever had a few “flare-ups” as they
are called. None of which came close to what I experienced when I went to the
hospital. Further more, the majority of treatment concerning Cohn’s disease is
figuring out your "trigger foods" and staying far away. So that's
what I've done.
Fast-forward to 2010, when
I decided to give a vegan diet a try in order to help me lose weight for my
upcoming wedding. The differences in my body were astounding! I slept better,
felt better, had more energy, lost weight like it was my job and had absolutely
no stomach issues! It was like a dream.
I educated myself on the
vegan lifestyle through a book called "Skinny Bitch". Written by two
sassy broads whose motto is "stop eating crap, and start looking
fabulous". I skipped a lot of the chapters about animal cruelty, I didn't
need to be told how bad the conditions for animals were, and I had a pretty
good idea. What really changed me was the explanation and encouragement for
organic foods and products.
So I kicked my diet coke
habit, stopped buying normal produce, and went all-natural on all of my
cleaning supplies.
I will truly never go back
to buying regular produce if I can help it, and there will never be a non-
organic piece of chicken or cheese on my table! I feel better when I'm organic
and you know what? It tastes a hell of a lot better too!
I dumped being vegan after
the wedding due to my obsession with dairy and chicken. I mean, I was born and
raised in Buffalo NY, You come out of your mom at the hospital, and the first
thing they do is hand you a chicken wing and a beer!! (While telling you to go
watch some Bills football!!) I’ve bounced back to it a few times but I don't
think it will ever be a permanent lifestyle for me. It's just far to
complicated and frustrating when I want to go out and order a meal at a
restaurant like a normal person. (It’s almost impossible to do this as a vegan,
even most salad dressings contain milk product.) A lot of the products and
recipes are staples in my life though; I will talk more about that in the next
post.
So now in preparation for
what will (hopefully) soon be an IVF cycle and pregnancy, I am turning again to
a vegan diet to get some body weight off of me so that I can have the
healthiest pregnancy possible. I’m only 5’2” and so I need to lose about 20lbs
to hit my goal of having a healthy bmi. And if our cycle doesn’t happen until
the fall, At least I’ll look good in a bikini this summer!
I’ve linked a copy of the
book Skinny Bitches and will be posting more resources in the next post.
Lena~
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