The Evolution of Change

So the 40 Year Old Vegan.  Hmmm.  As a genuine 100% meat loving human I thought I would struggle with this change in my lifestyle and it would be so difficult it wouldn't last a week or two.  Honestly it has been really easy with very minor struggles.  The biggest thing I struggle with is the smell of a bar-b-que!!  That smell is still one of the "happy" smells I associate so much in my life with.  There is no doubt the sweet smells of a summer BBQ smoke tickling my nostrils make my mind weak and my stomach smile!

So this change didn't come to me in a dream, or as a thought while I was reading about slaughterhouses, nor did I wake up one day and say "Hell, today I'm going to adopt the Vegan lifestyle.  No it was nothing like that at all, it was a simple suggestion from my loving wife and some random discussions about how I thought slaughterhouses of today were somehow "humane" in the killing and treatment of animals.  My Son and wife both shed some "wisdom" on me in this department.  It didn't take many web searches for me to find all the information I ever wanted to know about slaughterhouses - but this I will chat about more in later posts, let me see if I can stick to the subject today!  My Wife and I had discussed Vegan-ism before and it would always end the same way with me adamantly spewing something like, "Are you kidding??  I'm not giving up meat and trying to live off vegetables!  I'm a MAN therefore I shall eat meat!"  Somehow in my brain, (actually I don't think this thought process is that uncommon in males) the association of eating meat products made you more of a man, in short a testosterone driven way to reach the pinnacle of machoism!  I am sure that stems from my upbringing and ancestors who actually had to hunt, kill and do what it took to feed their family.  Today all we have to do is walk in any grocery chain to find a plethora of food choices.  Thankfully I do not have to wander around the 120 degree desert looking for something to bring home for my woman to cook up for us.  This is good on many levels, like first there isn't much I would consider "tasty" to eat in the desert (some cactus is tasty though!) and second it would be heavily frowned upon if I dispatched, gutted and dragged home a coyote, burro, scorpion or rattlesnake for the family's stew pot!

This whole journey for me began in December of 2010 when I, (the one you could see walking around with a cigarette telling everyone how they are really not that bad for you) was still smoking a pack and a half a day.  This "habit" had followed me from my youth, remembering correctly I had my first one at the age of 15, albeit like Bill Clinton I didn't inhale!  However that soon followed and my addiction was born.  My initial reason for quitting was money driven.  Grasp this, a pack and a half a day smoking habit is roughly 10 packs a week.  Multiply that by 52 weeks is 520 packs a year.  At roughly $5.00 per pack is $2600 per year.  So that was the reason I made my first life change at 41 years old, it wasn't because I was killing myself, it wasn't that I wanted to be healthier it was all about the money.  That was step one.

The next step for me was a change my wife made.  She had been talking about Weight Watchers for a long while.  How it had worked for her and how she would like to try again so we could both lose some weight.  It took some convincing and I agreed that it would be good for us both.  So we began the task of counting points and making smart food choices.  I'll be damned but it worked!  We both started losing weight and dropping pounds!  It wasn't that difficult either however there is a point where I think everyone plateaus and we both were staring to.  During this time I was still drinking (pretty heavily) so I once again, in January of 2011, I made a money driven decision - if I quit drinking it would save us considerable money and I would continue to lose weight by diminishing the added calories beer provided me daily.

The next step for us was the exploration of a Vegan lifestyle.  How did I make the decision to try this lifestyle?  It was simple really, my wife wanted to give it a try and I have learned the hard way that I need to support her like she does me and my half-baked ideas - 100% and fully!  I really think she was near faint when I told her I would do it!  Why not?  What have I got to lose?  If it doesn't work then we will figure something else out.  Isn't that how life works anyway?  You try stuff, if it doesn't work you figure out another route to take.  I will admit without a shadow of a doubt it has been one of the best decisions I have made.  I enjoy it, I don't miss the things I thought I would and I feel better then I have in many, many years and the bonus is I don't have to count anything I eat, I don't have to feel guilty for eating things and I can still eat whatever I want.  At the end of the day its my choice and I have to live with it.

This blog is a trial and error thing for me.  I want to write about this journey, I want to share information, facts, fiction and my experiences with the changes I have made, the reasons why and the outcomes.  I want to share recipes that are successes, ones that are epic failures and eventually help people who are struggling with weight issues or food problems.  Love or hate the idea and/or blog I hope you read it, I hope you enjoy it and I hope I, as the 40 Year Old Vegan can keep you entertained and coming back for more!!
Until then, thanks for visiting and I hope to see you next time!
Kel