20 Thoughts On Plant-Based Eating

I recently spent two days at the ‘Plant Based Expo’ in New York City.

In case you didn’t know, I’m not just a nutrition coach.

I’ve been an organic & natural ingredients distributor for over 20 years.

I’ve seen a lot in the food industry.

Hopefully, you’ll find today’s perspectives on plant-based eating helpful:

1. The Big Picture 🖼

2. Explain It To Me It Like I’m 5 🧒

3. A Balanced Plate 🍽️

4. 20 Thoughts On Plant-Based Eating 🥦

5. Parting Zen 🧘‍♂️

The Big Picture 🖼

A drop more on my professional background: I’ve been to all kinds of industry trade shows, small and large, worked in sales & customer service, mainly selling to plant-based business owners and having to understand their needs, and also sit on the product evaluation team at our company, which means that for years I’ve been pitched and sampled just about every natural foods product that’s available in the US.

So, as I mentioned, I’ve seen a lot in the food business.

Even though plant-based eating, aka a Vegan diet, has gotten a lot of buzz in the last few years, it’s not new at all.

If anything is new, it’s the vast amount of confusing or misleading available information and the frequency with which you are bombarded by it.

I’ll share my list of XX thoughts below.

Explain It To Me Like I’m 5 👦

Today’s topic, as simply as possible:

“Your diet should be yours, not someone else’s.”

A Balanced Plate 🍽️

There’s room on the plate for lots of things:

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20 Thoughts On Plant-Based Eating 🥦

Here we go. I told you I’ve seen a lot, thus I have a lot to say!

1. No one diet works for everyone.

2. Most people will do best on a balanced diet that includes all the major food groups.

3. There are many different reasons why people choose to go fully plant-based.

4. I’m not here to judge any of those reasons.

5. If you choose to try eating an entirely plant-based diet, get clear on why you are doing it.

6. Be honest with yourself and review objective data, which you should measure periodically.

7. Consult a neutral healthcare practitioner.

8. Do not attribute false causality to short-term health improvements. In other words, the removal of eating lots of junk food (for example) can be a confounding variable when embarking on a new diet.

9. You can get enough protein, vitamins, minerals, and other essentials from a fully plant-based diet.

10. You can also fail to get those things from an entirely plant-based diet if you’re not careful.

11. It’s very common for people embarking on a plant-based diet to eat way more fat, salt, and carb-dense foods than they think they are.

12. You can avoid #11 with proper planning, guidance, and awareness.

13. Just as there are ethical, environmental, and political concerns with some animal foods, plant-based foods may be subject to those concerns.

14. Some people can live a long and healthy life on a plant-based diet.

15. For some people, a long-term plant-based diet can make them sick.

16. You can navigate #14 and #15 with #6.

17. Adopting a plant-based diet can become a part of the personal identity of some people. There’s nothing wrong with this - unless it blinds you from making objective decisions (see #6).

18. There’s a lot of plant-based junk food out there, just like animal-based junk food. Remember that a cookie is still a cookie.

19. Read the ingredients.

20. No one diet works for everyone.

Personally - this is for me - I do much better when including animal food in my diet.

But I coach a few plant-based eaters, and for me, it’s not about judgment.

It’s about evidence and whether or not it works for you.

As always, you can click here if you’d like to chat with me 1:1 about this.

Parting Zen 🧘‍♂️

A simple word, phrase, or thought to take with you:

Be well,

Coach Matt

PS: Here are some other newsletters I recommend:

PPS: My common-sense disclaimer …

The advice I offer is not medical advice. If you have any medical issues, please consult your doctor first. The advice I offer should be personalized to your needs. I can help you make those personalizations or refer you out. Reply to this email if you need help.