Before we take a look at Kevin's answers to the 10 questions I addressed yesterday, I'd like to take a moment to talk about realistic expectations for myself versus the rest of my family. My intentions for my own 21-day challenge are as follows:
- Drink 32 oz of water first thing in the morning before ingesting any food
- Start breakfast with a green smoothie (recipe coming on Day 1 of the challenge)
- Follow a whole foods plant-based diet whenever possible, focusing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds
- Aim for about a 70/15/15 macronutrient ratio (such that the diet is 70% carbohydrates)
- Abstain from alcohol
As I touched on yesterday, I will embrace any degree of willingness to change. If eggs or milk from ethically treated animals are what it takes for my family to embark on an otherwise plant-based diet, I will be grateful and fully support them in that. I still personally feel that it is unnatural and unnecessary for humans to drink cows milk, but I am not going to impose that opinion on anyone else if they at least know exactly where their milk is coming from and what is in it.
Without further ado, a few words from my favorite red-headed brother...
K: One.
T: Why do you say that?
K: Because I know I won't be eating vegan for a couple meals. [He is referring to a two-night event that he and our brother, Cameron, will be attending. They serve dinner and according to Kevin, there are not even vegetarian options. Cameron, however, said that there would be.]
T: What about outside of those two meals then?
K: Four or five, because I would still eat eggs.
T: What if I told you eggs are not a problem? I will get them from a local farm.
K: Then 10.
Q #2. What are the animal products you will miss most while on this diet?
Meat, mostly turkey and chicken.
Q #3. What are your general perceptions of or attitudes toward veganism?
K: Being vegan makes you better than everyone else. It helps you to use more than 10% of your brain. [These are more Scott Pilgrim quotes]
T: Okay, so those are a joke. Anything else?
K: Yeah, kinda. They make things difficult, or over complicated, when you go out to eat or something like that.
T: Do you see them as extremists?
K: In the way that they eat, yes.
Q #4. If you were ultimately convinced to go vegan, what would most likely be your reason: personal health, welfare of animals, or environmental sustainability?
Personal health.
Q #5. What do you hope to gain from this experience?
Weight loss, maybe? I don't think eating vegan offers that much.
Q #6. Is there anything you absolutely do not want to eat while on this diet?
Eggplant. Unless it had cheese on it or is between two pieces of bread or something like that.
Q #7. Any guilty pleasures that may act as temptations on this diet?
Bread.
Q #8. What do you do for physical activity?
Going upstairs to get food. I walk around trimming trees, mowing lawns, weed whacking and all of that when I'm at work. I work up to five hours a day four days a week, but it is weather dependent. On days I don't work I don't do much.
Q #9: How much energy would you say you feel you have throughout the day on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being feeling lethargic or fatigued and 10 being alert and as if you always want to be on the move, with energy to spare.
Depends on the time of day. In the evening I feel like I have more energy than during the day. Probably a three or four during the day and seven or eight at night.
Q #10. How much sleep on average do you think you need at night to feel rested and energized?
Ideally about ten hours, but I usually get seven or eight.