Choosing to eat fewer animal products is probably the most important action an individual can take to reverse global warming—it has a known and significant effect on the environment, and, done collectively, would push the culture and the marketplace with more force than any march.
Jonathan Safran Foer in We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast
Since a few years ago, I’ve been consciously reducing my meat consumption exactly for the above environmental reason, although I’m not a full-fledged vegan. This year, however, is the first year in which I set myself fitness and dietary goals concurrently (more about it below), so I became curious about how a plant-based diet affects our athletic performance.
Unsurprisingly, Netflix read my mind and served me a documentary called The Game Changers, which highlights several professional athletes who thrive on a vegan diet. While it’s clear as daylight that that the movie adopts a one-sided tone, which is a pity, it also brought to light encouraging scientific and anecdotal evidence that cutting back on meat doesn’t necessarily cause a deterioration in physical performance.
Learning that there are vegan athletes out there who excel in their discipline is encouraging, but unfortunately I don’t have a dedicated nutritionist who monitor and tailor my diet like they do. Moreover, we know that everyone’s body and mind react differently to dietary change. With these uncertainties at play, I’m curious to see how my athletic performance evolves this year, with my avoiding animal products at least three days a week. “Can I run a half-marathon on a plant-based diet?” is a question I hope to answer with a resounding “yes” in a few months.
In any case, I’m glad to be having quite a bit of fun experimenting with my reducetarian meal plans. I was afraid that I’d miss cow milk in my coffee and parmigiano cheese on my pasta, but my worries turned out to be unfounded. There are so many new ingredients and recipes to discover, I don’t think I’d experience milk or cheese withdrawal symptoms anytime soon. Plus, I’m lucky to be living in Berlin where plant-based options are in abundance.
How about you? Have you tried a vegan diet and if so, how did your body react?
P.S. If you’re interested in the goals I set myself this year, check out the video below.
