It’s been a tough couple of weeks. I’ve been feeling a little lost over what, if anything, to put out there lately; the internet seems so saturated with dirty laundry and nastiness. What can I contribute that’s not just shoveling more manure onto the giant pile? Or better yet, that will be useful and/or make someone’s day just a little better?
How about a pic of my cute dog? We nearly lost her this week – but she’s home from the vet hospital today, minus one spleen and part of her liver. She’s gonna be ok but it just made me realize, again, that I would do anything for this fuzzball. I mean, I knew that but I didn’t REALLY know it. You know?
Anyway, here’s what I think: lots of us are experiencing a phenomenon called temporal disintegration, a kind of real-life version of Groundhog Day (the movie, not Feb 2) where there’s little structure to life, there are no celebrations or trips or goals or things to look forward to that add some punctuation to our existence. So what keeps us getting up in the morning? Hope. Hope that today will bring something better, or even just something different. To that end, here’s what I’ve got: the most optimistic thing I can think of is to do something silly and entertaining. Of course I’m being selfish here because I need to get out of my own head and think about something other than economic uncertainty and my growing waistline.
Courtney Dauwalter, the great ultra-runner, posted something on her IG page a few weeks back that resonated with me and I keep repeating it to myself when things look bleak: “When it feels like you can’t go any farther: left foot, right foot. Breaking it down to the tiniest bit of forward progres makes it doable no matter how hard it is.”
So back in February, when I tried to be a carnivore for a month, I was actually floored by how polarizing an idea it was. I can’t even tell you how much correspondence I got, mostly from complete strangers, about how I was a bad person for eating all the animals, how I wasn’t providing a balanced viewpoint by only eating meat, and….a few butthurt individuals demanded – DEMANDED – that I do the same challenge as a vegan. At first I met force with resistance: it’s MY body and these are MY food decisions and I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. Also believe it or not I have done the vegan thing – more than once – so it’s old hat as far as I’m concerned. BUT. I still have this funky little duck voice quacking away in the back of my consciousness that insists that I should maybe not dismiss the idea of providing an opposing view…
Now I generally don’t believe in crash diets and extreme food behaviour; in theory I don’t think anything that isn’t sustainable long term is a good idea. I try to teach moderation and the development of healthy habits that you can maintain for a lifetime. In practice though, I feel like people ask me for support with whatever diet they choose often enough that it’s important to have some firsthand experience with various diets and their pitfalls and I think there are some learning experiences to be taken from all of them. And being my own science experiment is fun!
Also, fuck it – it’s time to do something ridiculous. I am right there with everyone else on earth who has been struggling with maintaining whatever healthy habits they had fought hard for, once life’s structure dissolved all around us back in March. I’ve been eating too much, drinking too much, baking too much, and gaining weight copiously even though I haven’t stopped training AND I’ve taken up running for fun (and jumping rope but more on that in a little while here). There’s something about always being close to my kitchen and mostly sitting on my ass all day long at my computer that just…doesn’t have the same effect as working on my feet in the gym for twelve hours a day. Weird, right?
So it’s time to impose some structure again, and for added inspiration I wanted to try something new. Something almost impossible. Something I would never in a million years recommend that anyone try. Something…FUCKING STUPID. Which is why, dear internet zealots, starting tomorrow I will see your vegan challenge and raise you a ketone.
Wait. Is vegan keto even possible? Yes it is. It’s not easy and it took some research and a lot of planning to make this feasible, but it will be fun – I have to say I am more excited about this than I was for being a carnivore. Stay tuned!