No More Squishy!

   Skinny. Thin. Insanely gorgeous. These are all attributes that people are futilely trying to achieve thanks to todays media. If you are not one of these things, then society gives the impression that you will never achieve a true sense of happiness with yourself. This is commonplace ideal in western society and its becoming a subtle message in the way many organizations are marketing Veganism.  Skinny little things loving various vegetables in very very interesting poses. Sound familiar?
  When I first became a vegan almost a year ago I told myself it was for the sake of my health and how living this way made me feel. With a family history of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and a whole slew of other things that could kill me down the road.  Then further down the road I found a commitment to animals that has kept me going. However I was not immune to the images of skinny girls that were committed to this lifestyle as well. I thought that just by eating vegan foods and living the lifestyle would magically make me that beautiful girl that turned heads when I walked in the room. Funny thing is i'm not that girl at all.

   I am a squishy vegan. I eat all the "right" foods but somehow I forgot about one important thing: Fitness. I believe that this is something that is not emphasized enough in our community. Much time is spent on food, which I don't have any real objections against, but when looking for a balance with fitness there is not as much emphasis. Its more of a footnote or even side note at best and I feel that needs to change. I don't want to be a squishy vegan, I want to be a healthy vegan in all the aspects of the word.
   Number one on the objective to being a healthy vegan is making fitness a bigger and better part of my life. I no longer want to be a vegan who eats an extremely fresh and fulfilling variety of foods and expect that alone to make me look like Natalie Portman or Olivia Wilde. I want to be active and push the limits of what I think I can do. Its taken me almost nine months to develop this outlook. Nine months to realize that there was more to the formula of healthy living then I was believing. Its like I'm having a child of an epiphany, and I do not wish for others to have to wait that long if they have not met this realization.
  I think there needs to be a shift from how we show a vegan lifestyle. Instead of showing scantily clad women for the cause, we should try showing real everyday vegans that are making the change. We should be talking more about how fitness plays a role in this lifestyle in addition to helping animals and eating delicious foods. Change always has to start somewhere, and here in rehab at least one post a week will be dedicated to this cause. Now I am warning you that I am in no way a fitness professional, and the only thing I am certified in besides eating is CPR. However, as a person on a journey for constant self-improvement I can share my experiences, triumphs and weaknesses. So today we are starting something to change perspectives, stereotypes and hopefully some lives. Let operation Rehab Fitness begin.