The Two-Week Vegetarian!

Hello again readers and happy Sunday!

We had some wild spring storms here in MN this weekend… I hope you all stayed safe!

Today’s blog post is pretty cool; I recently did an experiment on vegetarianism and was actually quite surprised by the results of it!

I have always rolled my eyes a little when I hear the words “vegetarian” or “vegan”. But truthfully, I was just really uneducated about all the health benefits that can be gained from these two lifestyles.

Lifestyles? Aren’t they just fad diets that hipsters and people in California subscribe to?

Honestly, no. A diet brings to mind ultimate restriction for the purpose of weight loss. Vegetarian and Vegan lifestyles can be motivated by a more positive body image; but also they can be motivated by a passion towards animals, a medical necessity, or a drive to use the food taken in as fuel/medicine.

Vegetarianism has some wonderful benefits, including but not restricted to:

• higher intake of folic acid, magnesium, Vitamin E, Vitamin C
• lower cholesterol
• lower blood pressure
• lower risk of heart disease
• clearer skin
• more energy
• potential for weight loss

So, I tried being a vegetarian for two weeks. I set the goal of two weeks at the very beginning. I didn’t want to say “ok I’ll do this for one day” because I thought that I wouldn’t get a very good idea of the benefits that may occur from the lifestyle change.

I’ll admit, I went in as a bit of a skeptic. I was thinking that I’d just be hungry every day for two weeks and would be thinking about pizza, burgers, and other meaty foods the entire time.

I was SO wrong!

I was able to eat things like yogurt, legumes, pasta, eggs, carbs, cheese, veggies, fruits, olives… the list goes on! Yes, it took a little extra brain power to stop & think about what to eat for supper, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing! It made me more aware of what I was putting into my body; something I’m not always that cognizant of.

By the end of week 1 I started to notice some pretty cool changes in myself:

• I felt more rested, even while getting the same amount of sleep
• My mood was better overall
• My skin looked great
• I was having less food cravings than prior to the experiment
• I didn’t feel hungry
• I was excited! I felt like I was doing something good for my body and I felt great about that!

At the end of two weeks, I decided to stop being vegetarian but continued to be more aware of what I was eating and when. One reason that I decided not to continue vegetarianism is that I was feeling a little more dizzy than usual. I take a pretty hefty dose of Lamotrigine each day for my Epilepsy and over time my body has acclimated to it. When I first started taking it I would feel pretty dizzy and my eyes had trouble focusing. Over time these side effects went away and I am able to operate just fine on my medication. My conclusion is that I didn’t get enough protein and other essentials during my experiment to balance out the equilibrium my body is so used to with my medication. So, ultimately, being a long term vegetarian is not for me.

However, I truly feel that this lifestyle change could be very beneficial to a lot of people! Depending on the medication you take, this type of meal plan could really help level out your emotions, blood sugar, and more. Even if you decide not to be a full-blown vegetarian, things like black bean burgers, hard boiled eggs, and greek yogurt can be awesome sources of nutrients to add into your diet!

You never know, you may love it!

Have you tried vegetarianism or other lifestyle changes while living with Epilepsy? If so, contact us and share your story! We would love to hear about your experience(s) so that we can all learn from each other to help promote a healthy lifestyle with Epilepsy.

Thank you for tuning in once again! Have a wonderful night and don’t forget to…

Seize The Day!