Just a quick update, but an important one:
We've decided to go vegan.
Jess may have mentioned this already to some family members, but I thought I'd announce it here as well.
Basically, ever since I cut my hand while washing dishes some odd months ago, I started to become fascinated by the body and how it heals itself, how it mends itself, how it repairs and works as a unit.
That led into me getting a bench press, a barbell, 2 adjustable dumbbells, and some plates, while starting a workout program. (Naturally. Isn't that what everyone does after cutting their hand?)
Along with that decision came watching my food & trying to "eat clean." As "The New Rules of Lifting" author Lou Schuler said:
"You should only eat food that you can picture in its natural, pre-processed state. When you see a hunk of beef, you can visualize a cow. When you see a salad, you can visualize lettuce growing out of the ground... So what do you contemplate when you look at a Twinkie or a bottle of Snapple? ... You can make a game out of it: Three Degrees of Clean Eating. If you need more than three visual images to get to the food in its natural state, then it's probably not worth eating."
Eventually, "eating clean" moved into discussions between Jessie and I about how much meat (specially chicken) I was eating in order to bulk up. My reading material at the time continuously talked about how lean animal protein leads to lean muscle mass, which was/is my goal.
I had never heard of vegan weightlifters/bodybuilders, so naturally I assumed they didn't exist. After finding a youtube video of various vegan athletes (here), I came across Robert Cheeke & veganbodybuilding.com, showing me that yes, this niche does exist, and in fact flourishes.
So with that discovery, a lot of my rationale for continuing to eat meat ("But I needs it for mah muscle!") flew right out the window. Yes, eating meat & animal products will help grow muscle, and you'll see much quicker results doing it that way. But it's also possible to do it on a "plant-based diet" - it just takes a whole lot longer and the overall goal isn't pure bulk, it's being muscular & healthy simultaneously.
For some examples of vegan bodybuilders, see Robert Cheeke and others here. One notable example is Derek Tresize, who's a lean machine.
At the same time, Jessie had been reading Skinny Bitch, which in itself is quite a book.
Since a lot of the food in Korea is based on meat, we've had to become a little more creative:
Lots of cooking at home, lots of trying new Korean dishes (especially the older, more traditional ones), finding vegan restaurants in Seoul (surprisingly a lot of monk places), and shopping at the local Ilsan Market (일산시장).
A lot of the Korean recipe books we have can be easily "veganized" & adjusted to fit our needs as well, so we've more than enough material to keep us busy for a while.
In addition, Jess has been vegan in the past (1 year in high school) - and just out of curiosity at that. No specific goal, just "meh, why not." She lasted a year, then broke down and consumed a whole chicken in the parking lot of a supermarket.
To the point, 1) she wasn't doing it out of health nor ethics, and 2) wasn't very smart about it. She says she mostly subsided on salt & vinegar chips, sourdough bread, and vegan treats from local markets (I'm being reminded of doggy treats here...). So it wasn't exactly sustainable.
But, because of that experience, she was able to help make our early transition much more painless. Plus, she knew perfectly well that non-animal products have protein too (gasp! What?), and even knew where to find them.
On that note, one thing that veganism / vegetarianism gets a lot of flack for is that people see it as a "deprivation diet." As Brian Wansink points out "Most diets are deprivation diets. We deprive ourselves or deny ourselves of something--carbohydrates, fat, red meat, snacks, pizza... Unfortunately, deprivation diets don't work for three reasons: 1) Our body fights against them; 2) our brain fights against them; and 3) our day-to-day environment fights against them."
To me, it's not a diet. It's not that I'm depriving myself of something I crave, but rather it's something I no longer crave. The welfare of animals in factory farms, my personal health, the effect my day-to-day decisions have on the planet... all those things are more important to me than simply my taste buds' desire for a quick spike.
I'm doing it for animal welfare/rights (ethical veganism), health (dietary veganism), & the effect on the planet (environmental veganism).
Additionally, it being something that lets me be passively rebellious & counter-culture is also a big plus, not gonna lie - rebel with a cause!
Some things that inspired me/us, in order of finding them:
The New Rules of Lifting, by Lou Schuler & Alwyn Cosgrove
Skinny Bitch, by Rory Freedman & Kim Barnouin
In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer
Mindless Eating, by Brian Wansink
Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard, by Chip & Dan Heath
Various vegan cookbooks that we've bought: The Vegan Table, Veganomicon, Eat Drink & Be Vegan, 1000 Vegan Recipes, Vegan With A Vengeance, Japanese Cooking Temporary & Traditional, and The Green Kitchen (which, while not all vegan, is awesome).
Korea specific:
iherb.com - supplements, protein powders, etc
Things I'd like to keep reading / researching:
Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan (even though many of the vegan activists would retort "What's the dilemma?")
The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, et. al
Note 1) Not all of the above resources are driven by a vegan agenda. Michael Pollan doesn't advocate veganism (just whole foods), while Brian Wansink is a meat-eating Ph.D who does studies of consumer behavior.
Note 2) There's quite a bit of in-fighting among vegans about to what level of veganism they should adhere to. There's vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, ovo-lacto vegetarian, vegan, raw vegan, raw foodist, etc. For different definitions and different rationales, see here) Note 3) The documentaries & films were seen either on iTunes online store (yay for digital renting) or online at various sites.
We're not quite at 100% vegan territory yet - I'm still using up some whey protein powder, we still have some honey in the house, my B12 supplement is derived from dairy (although Jess is quick to point out hers isn't), some of our shoes/clothes may still have animal products in them, etc.
I agree with PETA when they say "We put the task of vigorously reducing animal suffering ahead of personal purity. Boycotting products that are 99.9 percent vegan sends the message to manufacturers that there is no market for this food, which ends up hurting more animals." (see here & here if you're interested)
So yeah. We're getting there.
That's it for now, take care, all :)
-Jay & Jessie
