#217 - WE ARE KATHY DAVIS VEGINSPIRING US TO EAT MORE PLANTS

For me, the transition to eating plant-based wasn’t a hard choice. As opposed to some athletes who do it for performance-related reasons, I’ve become increasingly fed up with the food industry, particularly factory farming. We kill billions of living, breathing, intelligent animals, funded to a large extent by the government – through industry promoters who lobby for subsidies like the Beef Council, the Poultry Council, the Pork Council, the Dairy Council, etc. – that has then exacerbated health issues like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and other morbidities that were magnified during the pandemic. And then the government has to lay out larger sums of money to help people to afford the health care they need to fight these ailments. Then we have a planet that is inching onto the edge of not being able to feed itself as there is less farmland and more crop failures as climate change worsens, which the factory farming industry contributes increasingly to that problem, all while the world population grows and grows and there are more mouths to feed. Without depressing you further, it seemed like a logical choice for me to spare the lives of a few animals, which won’t change the world, but maybe it will totally change it for just a few of them who don’t get slaughtered. Funny thing is, after many years of injuries and way too many surgeries, I do seem to be training better than I have in a long time. Not sure if there’s a connection, but I’m sticking with this lifestyle. My doctor has even pointed out better health metrics during my past couple of physicals. I can also see this impressive starter list of vegan athletes whose names you likely know, like Kyrie Irving and Chris Paul in the NBA, Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, incredible ultrarunners like Scott Jurek, Robbie Balenger, and Harvey Lewis, nine-time Olympic track medalist Carl Lewis, MMA star Ronda Rousey, and tennis great Venus Williams.

My challenge has been that like most guys, I know how to artfully use a grill to cook. In Colorado, we barbeque outdoors in almost any weather. But frankly, my biggest struggle now is finding enough variety in what I eat. I love salads, but not every day. Enter Kathy Davis. She has a site called VegInspired that offers a ton of recipes and information geared toward aspiring and existing plant-based eaters. What’s great is how Kathy breaks through the barriers and makes it so easy to really make plant-based eating your lifestyle. She’s so committed that she and her husband sold their house and travel the country in an RV on something of a plant-based eating road trip, showing how doable it is even on the road. Kathy particularly emphasizes eating whole, unprocessed foods after encountering an interesting twist at the start of her journey. Despite eating plant-based, she gained dozens of pounds because she was eating what David always called vegan junk food. You commonly see them now: Beyond and Impossible Burgers, fake chicken nuggets, fake deli meats, even fake bacon. But these are often highly-processed, sometimes with high amounts of sodium, sugar, and other questionable additives. I’m not saying they’re all bad, and I think most are still better than eating animal products, but I’d still point you toward more whole, unprocessed foods like Kathy does. You can join her journey with the coaching she offers, through her Website recipes and blogs, and with the free meal planner she is giving to WASP listeners, which frankly is a Godsend for someone like me. She’s really engaging, so I hope you enjoy this conversation and gain some tips that help you live healthier, and please take advantage of her terrific meal planner.

Meal planner:
www.VegInspired.com/podcast

Kathy Davis
www.VegInspired.com
Facebook and YouTube VegInspired
Instagram and Twitter @veginspired

Bill Stahl
[email protected]
Facebook Bill Stahl
Instagram @stahlor