Monday 30 December 2013

FEASTING AND CELEBRATION

FEASTING & CELEBRATION




 
The holidays are here and for most of us, this is a time for feasting, celebrating, catching up with family.  It’s also a time to review the year, make those “resolutions” and revisit our visions for our lives.

General wisdom recommends starting major life changes, especially concerning dietary changes after the holiday season.  But is that really true?
We all know about the huge increases in gym memberships, diet programs etc in January which levels out by March.  It may actually be wiser to enact major life changes before or during the holidays for several reasons.  First of all, most people get more time off during the holiday season than at any other time of the year.  This gives time to get dedicate to the new changes, learn the ropes and adjust.
The other reason is that we are forced to navigate most social and cultural challenges at this time before they wear you down later when your resolve may not be as strong.  If you have just turned vegetarian or vegan, started an exercise program, stopped drinking or any major change – you will probably face the most temptation and social pressure at this time.  Let’s call it a baptism by fire. Saying no to the turkey or Christmas pudding, continuing your exercise regime, saying no to the booze, cigarettes and all that at this festive time will strengthen your resolve and show family and friends that you are committed to your new life.  Sort out all those – “Why are you getting so weird questions?”  If they see you get through the season’s temptations with ease and enjoyment, they are less likely to keep bugging you and respect your choices.
You also get to prove something to yourself – that you can enjoy your life, share quality time, laughs and memories with your friends and family while also living your chosen lifestyle.  You may also find the opposite, that some of your friends and family refuse to tolerate you now.  It’s a good time to move on and find better company.  Either way, by choosing to make or maintain changes during the holiday season, you are actually testing how sustainable they are in the long run and giving yourself feedback.

If you are transitioning to veganism and you mainly eat cornflakes, pasta and sauce, fries and potato chips etc; the festive season forces you to expand your palate and eat more variety so that you won’t be munching on salad and cranberry sauce while everyone else is eating hearty food. 
The only way to maintain a vegan lifestyle in the long run is by enjoying your food and staying healthy.  To get through the season, you have to start exploring food and this is where the fun part begins – discovering vegan ethnic cuisines, learning how to make healthy meals. A whole world awaits you of delicious foods and amazing variety - spicy lentils, hearty bean casseroles, vegan sushi rolls, falafel, hummus, spicy aubergine, shiro, injera, vegan thai curries, plantains, coconut beans, whole wheat pitas, rotis, naan, fresh salads, smoothies etc.  



You get to learn, plan, cook, find ingredients and restaurants so you can survive the holidays and this arms you with what you will need to maintain a healthy vegan lifestyle throughout the year.

In the spirit of baptism by fire, I decided to finally do a 10 day fast that ended right before Christmas.  I hesitated a lot about this and considered doing it in January but I have the time off now.  I really needed 10 therapeutic days to fast and heal and will be discussing this in more detail in a later post.  The post fasting period consists of re-feeding with low calorie, nutrient dense foods.  So, the holiday season will be quite tough for me and I will use this time to re-set my palate and start off the new year as a healthy vegan.