Swimming Tips for the WFPB Waters

The Resources that Lured Me Off the Beach and Into the Waves

Last week I talk about my journey into WFPB eating, and this week I’ve decided to switch metaphors. Over the past seven days the word “journey” began suffering from semantic saturation in my mind and I needed a change. Plus, summer is almost over, and one of the things I enjoy most about summer is swimming. I love swimming. If I could be any animal, I’d want to be a dolphin. I would rocket around those watery, bluesy depths like a heat-seeking missile with a huge grin on my bottle-nosed face. But alas, I am only a human.

So, let’s talk about swimming and WFPB eating today, shall we?

When I first started investigating the waters of WFPB eating, a lot of books and articles I read encouraged a complete submersion into the diet. I’ll be honest with you, I get a high off stakes like that. I tend to be the type who when I decide to do something, I completely immerse myself in it. Of course, there always comes the moment when I start drowning in the sea around me because of my full submersion. It’s not until I come spluttering back to the shore that I realize that there are actually other options.

Yes, some people have ironclad resolve and build their strength by fighting it out in the waters where their feet don’t touch. They say “I’m going WFPB,” and they never look back. Twenty years later, pork chops and peanut butter cup sundaes are faded memories from another life. If you are one of those folks, my only encouragement to you is, “Keep at it, my friend. You will likely outlive us all. Enjoy the extra years.” But in case that approach is too overwhelming or anxiety-inducing for you, there’s nothing wrong with approaching this ocean by starting closer to the shallows where you can find a little footing till your strength builds and you can move out to deeper waters. Maybe you want to start with eating WFPB one meal a week or one day a week. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Simply find what works for you and move on it.

Now that you’ve given yourself permission to approach the waters of WFPB eating in whatever way best fits you, here are a few tips that I’d like to pass on to you as I’ve been treading around in these seas for almost seven years now. I hope you’ll find them helpful and encouraging.

1.     Don’t be a drag. No one likes to be dragged into the water when all they want is to lay on the beach sunbathing and reading a mediocre rom-com. Don’t shame or force others to do this diet with you. In a world where everyone preaches tolerance, our culture has become incredibly intolerant of everyone who disagrees with us. If you feel intrigued to join in the splashy fun of WFPB eating, come on in; the water’s fine. If you want to talk about it with your friends and family, do so in a kind way. I haven’t always done this well, but I’m learning to do better. For us “all-or-nothing” types like me, we can sometimes be a little judgy. But then life serves us a big piece of humble-pie and we learn. Before I had kids, I had so many ideas on the right way to parent. I was basically a parenting guru. And then I had babies and I realized I was an idiot. Don’t be like the old me, friends. Be kind and gracious.

2.     Find your swimming teachers. When I dove into these waters, I had no idea what I was doing. I mean less than zero. Thankfully, there are many knowledgable and creative folks who have been swimming around in these waters for ages. I decided to seek them out. I watched a lot of documentaries, and I put my library card to good use, checking out books about WFPB eating and WFPB cookbooks to inspire me. Here are a few resources that helped me learn my strokes:

Documentaries:

Forks Over Knives

The Game Changers

What the Health

Plant Pure Nation

Vegucated

Books:

My Beef with Meat by Rip Esselstyn

Whole by T. Colin Campbell

Healthy Eating, Healthy World by J Morris Hicks

Eat for Life by Joel Fuhrman

Cookbooks (most of these I checked out from the library first and then went on to buy them because I loved them so much):

Isa Does It by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Oh She Glows Everyday by Angela Liddon

Plant Pure Nation Cookbook by Kim Campbell

Plant Pure Kitchen by Kim Campbell

3.   Shed the t-shirt. We’ve all seen them and perhaps we’ve even been one of them: those folks wading through the water with a wet t-shirt suctioned to their bodies, a second-layer of thick cottony skin. I’m not trying to throw shade on wearing t-shirts in water—I know people have very valid reasons for doing so—but I think we all can agree that it isn’t the easiest attire to sport when trying to frolic in the waves. What is the extra weight that you are carrying that perhaps you could shed to make your experience with WFPB eating more enjoyable and successful? For me, I knew I had to stop listening to other people criticize my endeavor and instead surround myself with voices that encouraged me (see the list from Tip #2; also, I recently listened to a podcast with Dr. Dawn Mussallem that gave me enough encouragement to last for decades—she’s a WFPB devotee, a doctor, a cancer-survivor, a heart-transplant recipient, a marathoner, and possibly one of the most positive people on the planet. I can’t recommend this interview enough.) On a practical level, what changes could you make to your life that will allow more space for you to really try out your new strokes? Could you spend less time on the socials or slow your Netflix bingeing to an occasional nibble so that you have more time to spend trying out new recipes or reading up on the WFPB lifestyle? Lastly, shed the pressure to look like a mermaid out there in the waters, leaping and twirling like you were made to this. It’s a hard endeavor. But I also believe it’s worth trying. Be okay with looking like you out there. It’s the only person you’re meant to be.

I hope this was helpful to you. If you have any resources you’d like to share, please put them down in the comments. Also, tune in next week as I talk about WFPB eating and family life as well as share a new recipe that’s become a crowd pleaser in The Kitchen. Till next time, friends, enjoy the swim!

(And just for kicks, let me know in the comments what animal you would love to be! Any other dolphins out there???)

Photo by TJ Fitzsimmons on Unsplash