Vegan!

Vielka here.

I was doing our grocery shopping at Whole Foods yesterday. We usually alternate between grocery stores so that I can get my vegan items and not get bored. I was a pretty dedicated vegan a while back but after getting pregnant and traveling quite a bit, it proved difficult to stay a vegan. Now that the baby isn't a baby anymore, I'm back to being vegan-ish for now; meaning, I enjoy a vegan-lifestyle most of the time with the occasional piece of cheese or chicken to make a smooth transition. My veganism is for a number of reasons: some moral, some environmental, some health.

So back to yesterday. The person at the register said he was confused seeing a bunch of vegan items and then some kefir and a roasted chicken. I told him that I'm the vegan in the house but it is difficult for me to have my son be vegan, especially at 18 months. That really seemed to upset my friend at the register. Babies and toddlers have sensitive stomachs and are allergy-prone so giving too much soy or nuts can be harmful and isn't advised, I explained. He said to feed them beans; I responded that clearly he has never been around babies because that's way too much fiber to give a kid daily! I also told him that while adults don't need all that calcium or protein, growing kids do but that frankly, my kid does drink milk and kefir but rarely eats meat and can almost be considered a vegetarian. And he just kept shaking his head. The person bagging the groceries said that she completely understood where I was coming from so that made me feel better.

In thinking about yoga and diets, it does seem being a vegetarian or vegan is most appropriate. Meat is heavy to digest. This means that a lot of blood moves to your stomach to help you digest meat. The more meat, the longer it takes and the more blood. This is why after a large steak dinner, you might feel super tired and need a nap. This makes the cycle worse, slowing down that metabolism even more. The irony is, if food is meant to give us energy, why are we eating to the point where we have to take naps? Keeping this in mind, we know we can at the very least, reduce our portions of meat so we don't feel weighed down. I love reading Michael Pollan books for more of this logic: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly vegetables.

In thinking about working out and yoga in particular, if you eat too much or anything large directly before class, the blood is still helping your stomach while you are trying to get it to focus on your muscles during each posture. And imagine if you are doing an inversion, such as downward dog, trying to focus on your core and digestion. What confusion!

So wondering what you can eat to give you energy before yoga? Try some fruit, veggies, grains...

See you soon!