Herbivore to Omnivore: the how, what & why…………….

This is my personal story and it has been a huge learning curve for me and I feel it has undoubtedly deepened my Health Coaching expertise.

I have understood from an early age that food has an impact on our health.

It has been a passion of mine and I have been on a journey to optimise my diet and health since my early 20’s.

Our, and when I say ‘our’ I mean my family of 4, began our plant based journey in 2018.

If felt very natural to slowly eliminate animal products from our diet.

We also limited gluten and cut out canola oil and soy products and had long ago eliminated refined sugar, preservatives and additives from our diet.

I was studying Health Coaching at the time and I was reading a ton of books.

We were juicing daily and learning a new way to prepare food.

It felt great to cleanse my body, I had so much energy and felt revitalised!

Also at the time our 14 year old daughter was on the verge of what looked like chronic fatigue, so we were keen to see if this new diet would help her bounce back!

After 6 months, our girl clearly had more energy, so we could see this was a positive change.

Other notable changes from eating plants were feeling super hydrated, feeling calm and clear, no brain fog, better digestion and a general feeling of vitality.

We joined a community of plant eaters and our friend circle grew. Veganism was the common thread through our lives and the dinner parties were a colourful taste sensation with amazing plant based cooks and likeminded conversation.

I was buying our organic food from our local farmer’s market and building a beautiful community!

Life was great, we were all thriving, until I wasn’t!

After about 2.5 years I wasn’t feeling my usual self, but continued with my plant based diet.

But at the 3 year mark I can now say my that body had had enough of eating primarily plants.

I didn’t stop though, I really thought that this was the optimal diet to be on, how much cleaner could I possible eat. I was getting so many nutrients from the colourful array of fruits and vegetables that I was consuming daily.

The airy feeling and weakness must be from something else.

Another thing that I noticed was, I was working out more than ever before but had less muscle tone and in fact my skin wasn’t as firm. I felt like I was starting to age more rapidly.

My memory wasn’t as sharp and this was becoming concerning.

I also noticed that my hair and nails had stopped growing.

But still I persisted eating plants.

It wasn’t until my 14 year old son had a tendon tear in his bicep and stated that he felt like he needed to start eating meat, I knew this diet was problematic for him with his rapid growth and development.

I agreed with him and we started looking into local meats. We spoke to some of our friends who had transitioned back onto animal protein and met some local farmers who raised their cattle on grass and confirmed their cattle was vaccine and chemical free.

Billy started on local whiting and I joined him. Then we transitioned to local wild venison.

He knew what his body needed and began to feel stronger.

I started slower than Billy, but as I introduced meat into my diet, I began to feel better.

We included bone broth and eggs and the rest of the family started to join us as we slowly introduced animal protein back into our diet.

The first thing that I noticed was my fingernails started growing rapidly. My hair had new growth and my brain function was improving.

Billy’s tendon injury was improving and we were on our next food journey.

I was curious as to why I became so stuck on this food label and ignored my intuition for so long. But I had become entrenched in this lifestyle and the community that is strong here on the Sunshine Coast.

I also had to process the emotions of consuming animals again. My compassion for animals had amplified during my plant based diet journey and I was educated about factory farming and the cruelty side of the meat and dairy industry and I didn’t want any part of that.

I wanted to speak directly to the farmers and hunters that I was purchasing meat from and learn of their farming ethics.

I dived deeper into Ayurveda medicine and researched blood type in search of answers to how some people thrive on plants and others don’t.

I discovered that both my blood type and dosha was directing me to eating meat, my son Billy is the same blood type and dosha as me and my husband and daughter both have different dosha’s. So, we have slightly different nutritional needs.

Every individual has different dietary needs throughout our lives, there are times of rapid growth in children where they need extra protein to support ligaments and tendons.

Conception, pregnancy and breastfeeding is another time where women need extra nutritional support.

Times of stress can affect hormones and deplete our body of critical nutrients.

When we are sick it is good to fast, when we are super active it is good to up our micro and macro nutrients.

Animal proteins offer our bodies something that plants simply don’t have. I would have argued this fact a few years ago, but I have experienced it for myself.

It is so important to listen to your body and if you are in tune you will be able to know what you need.

Be careful of labels as they can trap you if you are not aware and if you are not feeling your best, seek advice. You can have a live blood reading, mineral test, or simply experiment with your diet to optimise your health and wellbeing.

It will usually take approximately 3 months to notice change, so stick with it.

I still eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and my diet is whole food based, but it includes animal proteins as this is what is feeling good for now.

No doubt I will change as I need to, but for now I have a much broader view and my training as a holistic health coach may be able to assist you if you are looking to optimise your diet and lifestyle.

No matter what you choose to eat, be present with your food, have gratitude and respect your food and allow it to fuel your body for vitality and wellbeing.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my story, I hope it offers inspiration to anyone who is thinking of making a change.

Big Love,

Sherrin x