“Plant-based food, more exercise and going to bed on time. That would become the basis for my new lifestyle. I am a diet chef in a hospital and in recent years I have become increasingly involved with nutrition and especially with the question: how is the nutrition in relation to our health? In 2017 I had been eating plant-based for a while because of a skin problem: acne on my back. Within two months the acne was completely gone. I also lost weight, but that was not my goal at the time.”
“This time I did want to lose weight. I now have two beautiful sons and a family with young children is quite busy with my work and taking care of the children. At one point I felt lifeless and the pounds came on slowly “I don’t like to gain weight. I used to play sports, but now that I have a busy family life, I can’t anymore. It just fell apart.”
“I wanted to change my lifestyle and decided to eat a plant-based diet. It works like a charm. My wife and children do eat all kinds of things with it, but it is no problem at home or out. For example, I was recently on a wedding, and then I just eat plant-based. If that doesn’t work out, I eat vegetarian. That’s always possible.”
“I’ve always ate healthy. For example, I didn’t eat dairy for a long time and I also had experience with not eating meat, fish and eggs. So I had no problem switching to a plant-based lifestyle. because I soon felt a lot lighter physically and mentally. I now have much more energy. Animal food takes a lot of energy from you, because your organs need a lot of energy to process animal food. Now that I no longer eat animal food , I get an energy boost in return.”
No dairy, less eggs and meat
“I used to go to the gym and take protein shakes, but that didn’t help at all. Now I do my exercises and run like I’ve been doing it for years, it comes so easily.”
“Turning your whole life around at once is of course difficult, I have been working for years to get it right. In the end I took it step by step: first cycled out the dairy, then a little less eggs, a little less meat. And In the meantime, I’ve read a lot about it.”
“What I’ve learned in recent years is that it becomes easier to adjust your lifestyle if you know why you do something, instead of what you do. Why have pure. For me that was a big difference. Why are you even doing anything? If you don’t know that, nothing will ever change.”
“It was about wanting to feel better, that I could handle the day well with all the hustle and bustle with work and children. I really don’t want to go back to that bloated feeling I got after eating a plate of spare ribs, I feel much better now.”
Enough variation
“I often have breakfast with soy yoghurt and dried figs, seeds in it, lots of fruit. At ten o’clock I eat two pieces of fruit, I have lunch with a salad or a sandwich with avocado or a vegetable spread such as hummus and fruit. In the evening I eat normal meals , like spaghetti but the vegetable version, or a wrap with vegetables and tofu. It takes a while to find, and you have to find inspiration here and there. But if you know how it works, you can vary enough and eat really tasty things.”
“I do take vitamin B12, because you normally get it through meat and in smoothies I put spirulina, algae powder. The nice thing about plant-based food is that you can eat what you want, when you want. You don’t have to count calories, about something think or watch how often you eat. Ideal.”
“Besides plant-based foods, I made a promise to myself to go to bed on time. I like gaming, but gaming with friends until midnight when you have to get up again at six o’clock, that didn’t help and only caused stress. Stress is disastrous for your body. I also started moving a little more. I do a few push-ups and some pull-ups every morning, just for the feeling. I notice how much improvement there is. And that’s how I get through the day So you don’t have to go to the gym six days a week, that’s just not good.”
“A friend of mine who is a fitness trainer, and my fifty-year-old uncle, who does a lot of crossfit, sent me pictures of what I look like now. I got back from both: ‘Wow, I want that too.’ They work out a lot and still have a belly.”
Immerse yourself in the vegetable world
“My goal is to tell others how much healthier you can make your body if you switch to plant-based foods. I took nonsense for 15 years for acne on my back, while I managed it with food instead of drugs. I I am a volunteer member of PAN Nederland, a group of doctors that is committed to healing through food, such as rheumatism and osteoarthritis, but also fatigue and overweight.”
“I say: delve into the vegetable world and focus mainly on whole food plantbased, it is definitely an enrichment, both mentally and physically. Eat a lot of fruit and enjoy all the goodies that the plant-based kitchen has to offer as much as possible.”