Vegan For 30 Days?

Read an article today about some of my favorite male celebrities who are living the vegan lifestyle. Some I knew before, like Mike Tyson and Y.G. Then there were some I didn’t know lived the lifestyle like Drake and Kyrie Irving.

Reading Mike Tyson’s story again made me consider taking on being Vegan for a full 30 days. He talks about how it helped with his weight, addiction, aches, pains and arthritis. I have a history of back and knee pains. As I get older the discomfort seems to get worse. I try to stay active and working out helps but some days, I just can’t shake the strain. It’s even worse during the cold months. My thought is, give this Vegan lifestyle a shot the entire month of April and if I get rid of the aches and pains, to seriously consider a full lifestyle change. How could I not if it’s ridding me of years of previous strain?

As I take my health and body more serious, I am open to trying anything that will improve it the right way. Working out 3-6 days a week and cutting back on processed and fast foods have worked wonders so far. With me cutting out meat and dairy altogether, there’s no telling the transformation in sight.

It helps my wife is already Vegan and has been for 3 months. She makes some great meals so some days I really do not eat any meat or dairy, which I can feel the difference when I do and don’t. I only do it a few days out of the week. I don’t think I’ve done it a full week yet, which is why I want to attempt it, just to see and feel the difference, if any.

I’m going to buy a scale and prepare for April 2018 as my month of trying out the vegan lifestyle. If a drastic transformation occurs, I will post the results. Have a great night and a better morning!

Lifestyle Changes Are Real

Lifestyle changes are real! And the realest thing about the changes is that it’s all about having the patience within yourself for yourself to evolve into something you see before it actually happened. Crazy right?

For about 2 years now, I’ve been determined to make the ultimate lifestyle change of being in the “Best shape of my life”. That comes with great sacrifice. Sacrifices that I won’t say I was prepared to make, but I understood that they would have to come one way or another.

I had stints where I gave up beef and pork for 30 to 60 days. Then maybe bread and dairy for 30 to 60 days. Then a combination of these. Then I felt the Paleo diet was for me. Then I watched Food Inc and now, I’m not sure what to eat and from where. I see food as population control and I don’t want to be a victim. My Wife watched “What The Health” with me and immediately became vegan. That film didn’t affect me as much as Food Inc. What I can say is that I definitely feel the difference when meat and dairy products are not in my system. My performance, reaction and recovery are all greater. My fatigue, aches and pains go down. That is telling enough.

Outside of that I looked at myself late summer into fall last year and said, “Damn Cam! You have literally no muscle definition. Like none anywhere! That’s pathetic! You’re an adult!” Yes, I really talked to myself that way. It was needed. I had to be hard on myself so I can go hard for myself. The “skinny fat” look is not cute and well, I wanted to change for my health and my own personal desire for my appearance. So I hit the gym.

I wanted those instant results, but that wasn’t a reality. I was struggling to bench 135 pounds for 3 sets again. I was back down to using 20 to 25 pound dumbbells and my legs, well they were stronger than I thought so not all hope was lost. I didn’t get frustrated. I got motivated. I took no days off, working out 5-6 days a week. Working a different muscle with cardio every day before each workout. Although my work schedule is all over the place and I make time for my passions, I take at least 30 minutes at least 3 times a week to “do something”. The result is I have the results that only I can see. I have cuts where there were none and don’t leave in a day or week. 2X anything feels so big and bulky on me. My jeans, belts and now even some of my slacks are baggier than ever and I feel great! I am slowly crafting what I’ve always seen and it’s been the biggest challenge of my life.

The fact that the next time I walk into a store for clothes it will be out of necessity and transformation rather than solely trying to stay in fashion or look cool is bringing me great joy. And the work is not over. I’m more motivated than ever to keep going. I probably am in the best shape of my life by default right now and I’m still not what my mind sees. So that is all the motivation I need.